French city to honor Chairman Mao with statue
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The city of Montpellier in the south of France is planning to build 10 bronze statues in honor of the "great men of the 20th century," and Chairman Mao Zedong, who declared the founding of New China, is among the 10, China News Agency reported Wednesday.
The city's former mayor, Georges Freche, who started the initiative, said they are honoring Chairman Mao because he helped Chinese people regain dignity.
Building the statues will help young men think and learn about the political thoughts of the great men, Freche said.
The city on Wednesday unveiled the statues of Lenin, Winston Churchill, Charles de Gaulle, Franklin Roosevelt and Jean Jaures. The five statues will be formally inaugurated next month.
The 3.3-meter statues each weighs between 850 kg and one ton and cost an estimated 200,000 euros ($260,000) apiece.
Five more statues will go up next year: Mao, India's Mahatma Gandhi, Israel's Golda Meir, Egypt's Gamal Abdel Nasser and South Africa's Nelson Mandela.
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