Stop 2: The Monument to France

The Monument to France was designed by Carlos Thays and was part of those monuments funded in honor of the 1910 centennial of independence.

The monument symbolizes the republicanism that French immigrants supposedly had gifted to Argentina in the attempt of creating a place for themselves in the nation and of building a bridge with it.

On the four sides of the monument are iconic scenes of French and Argentinian History: The Storming of the Bastille, San Martín crossing the Andes, The Tennis Court Oath (1789) and The Congress of Tucumán.
As Dr. Bryce mentions in his research, three female figures and a child holding books are visible at the very top of the monument. One of the female shapes represents Argentina while the winged figure that guides it with a torch symbolizes republicanism or France itself. In addition to that, another reference to the bond between the two nations and their pursuit of republican values can be noticed: the child and the third woman are wearing a Phrygian cap, a symbol of liberty born with the French Revolution.