French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Mayor Michael Bloomberg celebrated the 125th anniversary of the Statue of Liberty on September 22nd, on Liberty Island.

This world-renown statue is the ultimate symbol of freedom throughout the world. It is “not just a statue. It’s an idea. Not just for Americans, not just for the French, it is for all peoples of the world,” said President Sarkozy in his speech. He stated that the French and Americans had the “responsibility” to “show that freedom is for everyone.”

While re-affirming his pro-American foreign policy positions, Sarkozy blessed the Franco-American friendship. “France and America share blood ties and a love of freedom,” he said. Mayor Bloomberg echoed President Sarkozy’s comments and said the US should not forget France’s support during the American Revolution, “before there was an America”.

Formerly called “Liberty Enlightening the World”, the statue was a gift by France to the United States in 1886 as a symbol of friendship between the two nations. It is located in New York in lower Manhattan, on Liberty Island, near Ellis Island, the historical gateway for millions of immigrants to the free land of the United States of America.