Monument à la République

The Monument à la République, also called Statue de la République, is a Monumental sculpture, made by the sculptor Léopold Morice. Inaugurated in 1883 on the place de la République, in Paris (France), it represents Marianne, an allegory of the republic.

General description
The monument is placed in the center of the place de la République, at the tripoint between the 3rd, 10th and 11th arrondissements.

The bronze statue is an 9.5 m high allegory of the Republic in bronze over a 15.5 m stone pedestal with a diameter of 13 m at ground level. The pedestal is decorated with 3 statues each representing one of the 3 words of the french motto, Liberty, equality, Fraternity. Around the pedestal, under those statues, a group of 12 High reliefs in bronze representing significant dates for the French Republic. A bronze statue of a lion symbolizing the Universal suffrage is placed at the foot of the monument. A fountain as been Added in 2013 at ground level around the monument.

Statue de la République
The top of the pedestal is occupied by a 9.5 m high statue of Marianne, symbolizing the Republic. She is represented standing, wearing a toga and a baldric on which is mounted a sword. She is dressed at the same time with a Phrygian cap, symbol of liberty and a plant crown.

In her right hand, the statue bears a olive branch, a peace symbol. Her left hand rests on a tablet wearing the inscription (Droits de l'Homme) meaning "Human rights".

The bronzes where cast by Fonderie Thiébaut Frères  in 1883.

Pedestal
The stone pedestal on which rests the Republic is 15.5 m high. It has been made by the architect François-Charles Morice, the brother of the sculptor, it is made of two distincts cylindric parts, an inferior part, about 4 m high and larger and a superior part, higher but narrower, this part that holds the Marianne is decorated under her feet by a bronze garland, the coat of arms of Paris and the inscription (À la gloire de la République Française - La ville de Paris - 1883) meaning "To the glory of the French Republic - The city of Paris - 1883".

The column serves as a backrest for three stone statues, each one, an allegory of a word of the devise motto, Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité :


 * La Liberté is seated to the left of the Republic. She wears a torch in her left hand, her right hand rests on her knee holding a broken chain. In the background, an Oak is sculpted in relief in the column.


 * L'Égalité is seated to the right. She holds on her right hand the flag of the Republic, the pole is marked with the initials "R.F.", in her left hand she holds a carpenter level, symbol of equality.


 * La Fraternité, to the back of Marianne is represented by a woman casting her caring gaze on two children reading a book, allegory of knowledge, a sheaf of wheat and a bouquet evoke abundance.

Two medallions marked with Labor and Pax, decorated with fasces are found on the sides.

High reliefs
The stone pedestal is surrounded with twelve high reliefs in bronze, made by Léopold Morice, connected with rosettes and arranged at eye level, they constitute a chronology of events marking the history of the French Republic, between 1789 and 1880 :

Lion


At ground level, a 3 m high bronze lion gives his strength to the universal suffrage (at the time universal male suffrage), represented by a bronze urn.

History of the monument




Before the creation of the Place de la République, it was the bastion of the Porte du Temple of the Wall of Charles V. It takes it's actual form during Haussmann's town planning works under the Second Empire. In 1811, the Fontaine du Château d'eau is installed on the Place de la République that takes the name of Place du Château-d'Eau. In 1875, this fountain is displaced to La Villette on the Place de la Fontaine-aux-Lions. The fountain is replaced by a biger Fontaine du Château d'eau made by Gabriel Davioud.

In 1870, the Third Republic is proclaimed, succeeding the Second Empire, in 1878, the municipal Council of Paris, that is in majority radicalist proposes the erection of a Monument à la République in the east part of Paris, the order is made in 1879. A few years after the Paris Commune (in 1871), the administration of Paris is essentially the jurisdiction of the "préfet de la Seine" that is nominated by the government, the municipal council tries to mark it's independence by asking that the Republic be represented with a Phrygian cap despite the official ban of such a representation. The competition is won by the Morice brothers, Léopold for the statue and Charles for the pedestal, the project of Jules Dalou that ended second was ordered for the Place de la Nation, inaugurated in 1899 and named Le Triomphe de la République.

The new monument replaces the fontaine du Château d'eau that is re-instaled on the place Félix-Éboué. On the 14 July 1880, a plaster model of the monument in inaugurated. A painting of Alfred Philippe Roll completed in 1882 commemorates this inauguration. The definitive monument in bronze is inaugurated on the 14 July 1883.

In 1889, six years after the final inauguration, the place is renamed Place de la République and the monument is surrounded with four banner holder, 25 m high and with bronze bases. They are removed in 1988, because the risked collapsing in the event of a strong storm.

In 2013, the place is renovated and a basin surrounding the monument is added.

After the terror attacks of January and November 2015 in Paris, the monument is used as a memorial. It is covered in graffiti during the Nuit debout and the protests against the El Khomri law. The monument is cleaned in August 2016.

On the 2021-01-28, the entirety of the monument is listed as a historical monument.

Notes and References

 * 1. It is the opposite of the representation of the Statue of Liberty by Auguste Bartholdi from the same period, which holds the torch in her right hand and has a broken chain at her feet.
 * 2.Sometimes attributed by mistake to Jules Dalou.
 * 3.The process in fact extends over the sessions of March 2 and March 4, where the principle of universal suffrage is accepted, then the decree is adopted on March 5.
 * 4.It is sometimes said that it represents the abolition of slavery but this is a confusion with the decree of the Provisional Government of the 4 March 1848 that institutes the "commission pour préparer, dans le plus bref délai, l'acte d'émancipation immédiate dans toutes les colonies de la République" and named Victor Schœlcher as it's president but the decree that really abolishes slavery dates from the 27 April 1848.