A statue of Winston Churchill by Jean Cardot was inaugurated in the grounds of the Petit Palais on the Avenue Winston Churchill in the

8th arrondissement of Paris The 8th arrondissement of Paris (''VIIIe arrondissement'') is one of the 20 arrondissements of the capital city of France. In spoken French, the arrondissement is colloquially referred to as ''le huitième'' ("the eighth"). The arrondissement, ...

in 1998. The statue of the former British prime minister is one of few statues of foreigners in the French capital.

Description

The statue of

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 Winston Churchill in the Second World War, dur ...

was commissioned at the start of 1998, five years after a statue of

Charles de Gaulle Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (; ; (commonly abbreviated as CDG) 22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French army officer and statesman who led Free France against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Government ...

was unveiled in London. The two leaders had a complex relationship, both on personal terms and in

France–United Kingdom relations The historical ties between France and the United Kingdom, and the countries preceding them, are long and complex, including conquest, Anglo-French Wars, wars, and Anglo-French alliance (disambiguation), alliances at various points in history. ...

. Paris-based British businessman Brian Reeve came up with the idea. The 3.2 metre, 2,500 kg bronze statue was funded by 3,000 donations totalling the equivalent of £250,000. The largest donation was equal to £20,000, and the Council of Paris also contributed. It is based on a photograph of Churchill marching with De Gaulle down the Champs-Élysées on 11 November 1944. Cardot said that the image of Churchill walking reflected his determination. The plinth features the words " We shall never surrender" from the prime minister's 6 June 1940 speech. On 11 November 1998, the 80th anniversary of the armistice that ended World War I, the statue was unveiled in the presence of Queen Elizabeth II and the President of France,

Jacques Chirac Jacques René Chirac (, , ; 29 November 193226 September 2019) was a French politician who served as President of France from 1995 to 2007. Chirac was previously Prime Minister of France from 1974 to 1976 and from 1986 to 1988, as well as Ma ...

. The British monarch gave a speech in French on how Churchill and De Gaulle had overcome their differences.

Incidents

The BBC reported in 1998 that Churchill is opposed by a minority in France for events such as the Allied bombing of German-occupied French locations. In August 2009, the statue was vandalised in red paint with the initials of

Rudolf Hess Rudolf Walter Richard Hess (Heß in German; 26 April 1894 – 17 August 1987) was a German politician and a leading member of the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany. Appointed Deputy Führer to Adolf Hitler in 1933, Hess held that position unt ...

, the Nazi who Churchill had arrested when he travelled to the UK for peace talks. In July 2015, a French court ordered Nike, Inc. and an events company to pay a total of €135,000 damages to Cardot, who had sued them for unauthorised promotional use of his statue. The sportswear corporation had dressed Churchill in a Tony Parker basketball jersey in 2011.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Churchill, Winston Statue of Winston Churchill 1998 sculptures Bronze sculptures in Paris Statues in France Public art in France Paris