Statue of Heracles, Arcachon, Marble statue and war memorial in Parc Mauresque, Arcachon, France

The Statue of Heracles in Arcachon is a 3.1-metre Carrara marble sculpture in the Parc Mauresque, made by Claude Bouscau in 1936–39. It shows the nude hero wearing the Nemean lion's pelt like a cape, holding the club behind his back in his right hand and two snakes in his left. It stands on a cylindrical base inscribed with 16 names of Resistance fighters and the dates 18 June 1940 and 22 August 1944.

Sculptor Claude Bouscau completed the work in Italy before the outbreak of the Second World War, using an opponent of Benito Mussolini as his model. The town of Arcachon installed the figure in 1948 to honor resistance against occupation.

The statue reuses a 1936–39 Carrara marble Heracles that Bouscau made in Rome, its model an opponent of Mussolini. The club held behind his back and the two snakes in his left hand belong to the Nemean lion labour, read here as the Allied victory. A nearby panel carries de Gaulle's 18 June 1940 words that France lost a battle but not the war.

The park sits in the center of Arcachon and is easy to reach on foot or by public transport. Visitors will find the figure on a pedestal along the main paths of the garden, where it remains visible at all times.

The monument has a removable extension secured by magnets, which gets attached during official ceremonies. This solution arose after several cases of damage in which parts of the sculpture were deliberately taken.