Surveying Place Denys-Cochin stands the bronze Maréchal Hubert Lyautey Statue. It replaced a previous statue of General Mangin. The Mangin statue was destroyed during World War II. This statue honors Louis Hubert Gonzalve Lyautey. He was a Marshal of France. Lyautey was also a French army general.
Lyautey’s statue stands in a small triangular square. This square lies along Avenue de Tourville, Boulevard de la Tour-Maubourg, and Place Denys Cochin. It is in the 7th Arrondissement of Paris. Les Invalides is very close by.
This particular statue shows Hubert Lyautey in military dress. The artist Francois Cogne sculpted it. It was positioned in Place Denys Cochin in 1985. Look closely. You can see the details of the medals he was adorned with.
Hubert Lyautey was born in 1854 and died in 1934. The statue’s pedestal shows these dates. Lyautey served in Madagascar and Morocco. He was the first French Resident-General of Morocco from 1912 to 1925.
During World War I Lyautey insisted on continuing the occupation of Morocco. He did this despite France needing resources in Europe. These resources were needed in the struggle against Germany and its allies. In 1925 Paris appointed Pétain to crush a rebellion in the Rif Mountains. Lyautey felt passed over. He then resigned.
The statue depicts Lyautey standing. He looks off into the distance. He is bareheaded and in uniform. He wears a long military cape. The statue shows all his decorations. Lyautey holds his sword in his left hand. The tip points down. His képi is in his right hand.
The statue has inscriptions on the base. The front reads: HUBERT LYAUTEY. It also says MARECHAL DE FRANCE and 1854 – 1934. The right side says: TONKIN 1894 – 1897. It also says MADAGASCAR 1897 – 1902, CONFINS ALGERO-MAROCAIN 1903-1910, and MAROC 1912-1925. The back reads: LE PATRIOTISME LORRAIN EST INSEPARABLE DU PATRIOTISME FRANCAIS. The left side says: LA JOIE DE L’AME EST DANS L’ACTION. On a low wall to the right of the base is: A TOUS CEUX CIVILS ET MILITAIRES QUI SONT MORTS OUTRE-MER POUR LA FRANCE.
The bronze statue is 220 cm high. It sits on a stone plinth. The statue is owned by the city. The Association Nationale Maréchal Lyautey commissioned it.
Interestingly in 2020 the Maréchal Hubert Lyautey Statue was sprayed with red paint. There was also an improvised cleaning. In 2021 an exhibition of photographs by Guillaume Herbaut included an image of the statue sprayed with red paint.
Before you leave notice how the Maréchal Hubert Lyautey Statue captures a man of action. It is a tribute to his service to France.