“Lady Liberty” in the colors of France. On Wednesday evening, artists illuminated the Statue of Liberty for the first time in its 140-year history. Blue, white, red or red, white, blue, for the 200 or so guests present on the island and those looking into the distance from New Jersey or Manhattan, each could see their own flag as the United States and France share their colors.
The sound and light show, scheduled to air in prime time on ABC on July 3, is the culmination of the French celebration in the United States of the 250th anniversary of American independence. Above all, it celebrates the long-standing friendship that began with the financing of the war by Louis XVI’s foreign minister Vergennes and the rallying of Lafayette and Rochambeau, and which was commemorated by the erection of this statue in 1886.
“Sometimes it’s your friends who see you and know how to describe you in the best light. That’s what our French friends did with this statue. It was given to us to celebrate our best aspirations,” New Jersey’s new Democratic governor, Mickey Sherrill, said, referring to equal opportunity and sanctuary for the persecuted.
Pyrotechnic project created in four months
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the statue “encourages us once again, as President Trump has put it, to work to restore our sovereignty, restore our prosperity, and strengthen our freedom.” “Let freedom unite our convictions as closely as it united our origin,” he wished.
Jamie Dimon, the head of JPMorgan, vowed to “never forget” that “we have received the vital support of a major ally, the great French nation”; “and without his efforts during the Revolutionary War the result might have been very different” – a banker, he knows that money is the muscle of war.
This light and sound show was organized in less than four months by the small French agency Monumental, which has already distinguished itself in Notre Dame and the Eiffel Tower. It was prepared by other French people from the Auditoire agency, a subsidiary of the American group Omnicom, which worked on the Paris Olympics. Entirely funded by sponsors – L’Oréal, JPMorgan, Estée Lauder, etc. – it cost the two countries nothing. The implementation of the project was facilitated by the French consul Cedric Furisco.
La Belle Poule is sailing off the coast of the United States again.
Before DJ Mikael Canitro stepped up to the mixing board, a French patrol flew over Liberty Island, unfurling a long tricolor streamer into the New York sky. The latter is touring the United States this summer. As part of his Freedom 250 Mission, he has already passed, among others, the Washington Monument, Independence Hall in Philadelphia and the Yorktown Battlefield Memorial in Virginia.
“I would like to highlight the quality of the reception we received, which we were able to see on the ground and on social media, as well as the support of the American Air Force,” notes Brigadier General of Aviation Pierre Gaudillier, in charge of the Liberté 250 mission. His men not only flew alone, but also conducted joint exercises with the Air Force and Navy. This extended American stay mobilized 85 French pilots.
In addition, France is scheduled to take part in the international parade of old rigs on July 4 in Hudson and New York Bays with its frigate La Belle Poule, a two-masted ship built in Brest in 1932. It bears the name of another French frigate that fought against the British in 1778, arriving to resupply the Americans.
Also on the program this year: a “night of ideas” at the French cultural center “Villa Albertina”, concerts of the Foreign Legion, Lafayette and Washington coins engraved by the Paris Mint… France remembers another country of freedom, its 250-year-old friend.