Claim: French politician Raphaël Glucksmann said the United States should return the Statue of Liberty to France. Rating: About this rating True Context Though the claim that Glucksmann said the U.S. should give the Statue of Liberty back to France is true, it does not appear that it was meant to be taken literally.
In mid-March 2025, a claim spread widely online that a French politician asked the United States to hand the iconic Statue of Liberty — that has been on display in New York Harbor for roughly 140 years — back to France.
Social media users on BlueSky (archived), Facebook (archived) and Instagram (archived) shared the rumor and attributed the demand to a French politician named Raphaël Glucksmann, who co-founded the French left-leaning political party Place Publique in 2018. He currently serves as the party’s copresident.
Snopes readers also flooded our inbox with inquiries about the alleged request.
In short, the claim that Glucksmann said the U.S. should give the Statue of Liberty back to France is accurate and was covered by major news media outlets like The Associated Press (AP), CNN, Axios and NPR.
Glucksmann’s demand occurred during a speech at a Place Publique convention held in Paris on March 15 and 16, which is available to watch on YouTube in both the original French and partially translated into English.
With a visible smirk, Glucksmann said:
Yes, French politician suggested US should return Statue of Liberty
