WW1 Franco-Khmer Statue ‘To Be Rebuilt’
A statue representing the Cambodian-French friendship and the solidarity between French and Cambodian fighters who fought together in World War I. This statue was built in 1925, and dedicated the victims of the war.
Prime Minister Hun Sen has announced to French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris that he has agreed to allow the rebuilding of the statue.
During a bilateral meeting at the French Government House Elizabeth on the night of December 13, Hun Sen told President Macron and French government officials that the statue that was built in 1925 and destroyed by the Khmer Rouge in 1977 will be rebuilt with the Minister of Lands and Urban Planning as a symbol of solidarity between France and Cambodia, and put it in front of the French Embassy. “Hopefully the president does not oppose this project.”
Some fragments of the original statue remain, with the elephant’s head on display at the entrance of the National Museum today.
According to Prime Minister Hun Sen, the two heads of government will also discuss setting a date for the celebration of the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Phnom Penh and Paris next year. THMEY THMEY
