STATUE OF FERDINAND DE LESSEPS

The statue of Ferdinand de Lesseps was inaugurated in 1899. Sculpted by Emmanuel Frémiet, 6.80 m high, it was installed on a pedestal on the west pier. In 1956, after the departure of the French soldiers, the Egyptians attacked the statue and partially destroyed it. Symbol of the servitude of Egypt, it is stored in the arsenal where one can ask to see it. Let us also remember that Bartholdi had proposed, in vain, his Statue of Liberty to Khedive Ismail.