Statue de la Liberté

Facing the ocean and the dunes of the Côte d'Argent, the Statue of Liberty in Soulac-sur-Mer is a bronze replica of Bartholdi's famous work. Located in the north of the town, it was acquired by the municipality in 1980 to commemorate a founding episode in Franco-American history: it was a few kilometres from here that La Fayette embarked on La Victoire in 1777, bound for the New World.
Signed by Bartholdi and cast by Thiébault, this statue is believed to have come from the stocks of the Parisian firm Arthus-Bertrand at the time of its purchase; its previous history remains undocumented to this day.

Over time, rumours have linked it to the former Statue of Liberty on Place Picard in Bordeaux, which was allegedly saved during the war. However, research shows that this Bordeaux bronze was melted down under Vichy and later replaced by a resin copy: the Soulac piece therefore does not come from there. The confusion is probably due to other local stories, such as the preservation of certain Bordeaux bronzes during the Second World War.