What is the link between Saint-Saëns and the Statue of Liberty?

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A priori, an ocean separates the town of Saint-Saëns and the Staten Island monument, spatially and symbolically. However, there is a bridge between the Statue of Liberty and the town of Seine-Maritime, named Stanislas de Laboulaye.

Represented in New York

The old diplomat and resident of Saint-Saëns where his father was mayor for 30 ansis the descendant of the one to whom we owe the Statue of liberty. Certainly, the two best-known names linked to the building are Auguste Bartholdi et Gustave Eiffel. But nothing would have been done without a third man, in the person of Édouard de Laboulaye.

Last year, his descendant told Awakening : “He’s my grandfather’s grandfather. It also appears among the 5 small statues at the foot of the base of the Statue of Liberty. And it was his idea to offer a monument to the United States, which did not have very good relations with France at that time for political reasons. “.

Reclaim America

This story takes us back to the very beginning of the years 1870at the end of the Second Empire under the reign of Napoleon III. The Saint-Saënnais explains the motivations of his ancestor: “He will resume this project following the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. It's a shock in America. Hence the desire to create a monument in the name of the French people, based on the principle that it was necessary to resurrect friendship with the United States. And he very quickly thought of this sculptor named Auguste Bartholdi. “.

The artist is won over and decides to cross the Atlantic to win back the hearts of Americans. During this time, Édouard de Laboulaye devoted a good part of his time to mounting a campaign so that the French would participate in the work.

A family story

Died in 1883Édouard de Laboulaye will unfortunately not see the Statue of Liberty inaugurated in 1886. But irony of family destiny, André, the grandfather of Stanislas de Laboulaye, will be French ambassador to the United States during the statue's 50th anniversary in 1936.

And his father François will also be ambassador to Washington a few decades later. He will also participate in centenary of the statue in 1986 alongside President Reagan.

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