Place de l’Alma is a square in the 8th and 16th arrondissements of Paris.
It is 109 meters long, circular in shape, and located at the meeting point of the avenues of New York, President Wilson, George V, Montaigne and the Cours Albert 1er
This site is served by Alma - Marceau metro station (on Line 9) and Pont de l'Alma RER station (on line C).
It takes its name from the Alma bridge which commemorates the Battle of the Alma (1854) during the Crimean War (1853-1856).
The square was created by the decree of 6 March 1858 and aligned, between the Avenues de New York and President Wilson's Avenue, by a decree of 9 March 1897.
The square is famous for its "Flame of Liberty".
Alma square
The Alma square and the Flame of Liberty at the back
The Flame of Liberty is a monument overlooking the west entrance of the Alma Bridge tunnel, which consists of a full-size reproduction of the flame held by the statue of Liberty at the entrance to New York Harbor.
The monument, which measures 3.5 meters, consists of a gilded copper flame sculpture, resting on a gray and black marble base.
The Flame of Liberty
The Flame of Liberty was offered to France by the United States, in gratitude of the restoration carried out in 1986 on the Statue of Liberty, on the occasion of its centenary. This restoration was carried out by two French companies: the Métalliers Champenois for the copper work, and the Gohard workshops for the gilding of the flame.
At the end of the work, Kevin McCarthy, a lawyer for the Métalliers Champenois during their stay in the United States, had the idea of making the exact replica of the flame made in order to offer it to France as a sign of the continuity of Franco-American friendship, as was already the Statue of Liberty itself, offered by France to the United States.
The International Herald Tribune, which was celebrating its centenary in 1987, agreed to co-sponsor the project. A full page calling for donations was published to raise the $ 400,000 needed for the work.
The Flame of Liberty was produced by Métalliers Champenois in Paterson, New Jersey, and was unveiled on September 10, 1987, before being sent to France.
For the location, Alma square was chosen and Jacques Chirac inaugurated it on May 10, 1989.
On the base, a commemorative plaque recalls this story:
FLAME OF FREEDOM
EXACT REPLICA
OF THE FLAME
OF THE STATUE OF LIBERTY
OFFERED TO THE FRENCH PEOPLE
BY DONORS
OF THE WHOLE WORLD
IN SYMBOL
OF FRANCO-AMERICAN FRIENDSHIP
ON THE OCCASION OF THE CENTENARY
OF
THE INTERNATIONAL HERALD TRIBUNE
PARIS 1887-1987
Commemorative plaque
Somewhat forgotten, the Flame of Liberty enjoyed a revival of interest when Diana Spencer died on 31 August 1997 in a road accident in the Alma Bridge tunnel below the monument. On the morning of the announcement of her death, the monument was covered with flowers by anonymous people, and since then, admirers and tourists have been coming to the monument, laying wreaths, displaying messages and photographs of Diana, diverting the flame from its original function and spontaneously transforming it into an altar in memory of Diana.
This part of the square has been officially named Diana Square since 2018.
