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Campaign launched to fund new Statue of Liberty in Brittany

A campaign has been launched to fund another Statue of Liberty in France... this time destined for Brittany.

Published: 2 July 2019 16:01 CEST
Campaign launched to fund new Statue of Liberty in Brittany
Photo: AFP
The most famous Statue of Liberty – given to the US by France – is of course the one located in New York.
 
However there are anothers in Paris – and there could soon be yet another on French soil, this time in Gourin in Brittany. 
 
The statues of liberty symbolise freedom, democracy and justice, and those behind the campaign for one in Gourin, a town of 4,000 people in central Brittany, say that the town deserves its own statue because it has come to represent the story of emigration from Brittany, France to North America, as well as of friendship between France and the USA.
 
“Gourin is the capital of Breton emigration in North America. Today, there are nearly 7,000 people from central Brittany settled in the United States,” say campaigners.
 
The organisers say that the story of European immigration to the USA is often told through the Irish, German, Italian and Polish experience. However over the course of 100 years, 100,000 people from Brittany alone have also moved to the USA to start new lives. 
 
The new statue, set to be 2.9 metres high, will be a reproduction of the model made by the sculptor Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi, with campaigners hoping to raise €60k to help finance the statue. 
 
As for the most celebrated Statue of Liberty, the French steamer Isère made its grand entrance into the New York port with what would become the 93-metre-high monument in 1887.  
 
The statue, which weighs 204 tonnes and is visited by almost 100 million people a year, was designed by Bartholdi, with the help of Gustave Eiffel.
 
Click here if you'd like to find out more about the campaign for a Statue of Liberty in Gourin, or you'd like to donate. 
 
READ ALSO:

France vs USA: Eleven things the French have given America

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FOOD AND DRINK

Three things to know about the new Paris cheese museum

The Musée Vivant du Fromage is due to open its doors in early June, promising a unique immersive and interactive journey into France’s ‘culinary and terroir heritage’.

Published: 15 March 2024 14:16 CET
Three things to know about the new Paris cheese museum

Paris will soon be home to a cheese museum.

The venue, on Rue Saint-Louis en l’Île, in the fourth arrondissement, will open to visitors on June 3rd, sending – no doubt – clouds of cheesy odours wafting daily down the street.

It will be at the same location as the former restaurant ‘Nos Ancêtres Les Gaulois’ (Our ancestors the Gauls), with the objective of becoming “an essential meeting place” for cheese lovers, as well as both novices and professionals within the industry.

Here are a few things to know about the new cheese museum;

It will be interactive

Fans of camembert, chèvre, brie, morbier, Roquefort and brebis, assemble! The museum promises an educational and fully interactive tour of France’s historic cheese heritage, including the science and varied tradition of cheese-making.

The first portion will give an overview of the ‘culture’ of cheese. Then, you will learn about its history, as well as how it is made and finish off with a tasting (dégustation).

READ MORE: Best Briehaviour: Your guide to French cheese etiquette

There’s a dairy and creamery

Part of the tour features a fully functional dairy, where visitors can witness cheese being produced before their very eyes. 

There are two goals for this part of the museum – to help people discover the different regions of France and their iconic cheeses, as well as to encourage young people  to consider careers in the farming and dairy industry, which is enduring something of a recruitment crisis in France.

You will also be able to purchase cheese and souvenirs at the museum’s boutique.

It can host private events

The museum can be booked for private catered events for up to 150 people in the evenings, from 7pm, with or without the services of a cheese expert, who can guide guests through tastings and demonstrations. 

READ ALSO 7 tips for buying French cheese

Tickets are advertised at €20 for adults and €10 for children. For more information and to book a visit, log on to website of the Musée Vivant du fromage. Blessed are the cheese makers!

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