Flame of Liberty, Monument near Pont de l'Alma, Paris, France.
The Flame of Liberty is a 3.5-metre gilded copper sculpture of a flame on a gray-and-black marble pedestal, standing at Place Diana near the northern end of the Pont de l'Alma in the 16th arrondissement. It is a full-sized replica of the torch held by the Statue of Liberty in New York.
The Flame of Liberty was offered to Paris in 1989 by the International Herald Tribune on behalf of donors who gave about $400,000 for its making. It marked the newspaper's 1987 centennial of publishing an English-language daily in Paris and thanked two French firms, Métalliers Champenois and Gohard Studios, for restoring the Statue of Liberty's torch in 1986. Jacques Chirac dedicated it on 10 May 1989.
People come here to leave messages and flowers, especially on the anniversary of a tragic accident that occurred nearby. The site has become a quiet meeting point for those who wish to remember and pay their respects.
The easiest way to get there is by metro to the Alma-Marceau station on Line 9, from where it is a short walk. The sculpture stands on a plaza by the river that can be visited at any time and is clearly visible from the street.
Although the torch was originally meant to symbolize French-American friendship, it became an informal memorial site for a princess after 1997. Many visitors do not know that the two events are unrelated, yet the base now carries traces of both stories.
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