‘Now or never’ to save €26m replica of historic French ship, campaigners say | France

French sea enthusiasts are fighting to save a copy of the 18th century warship, which has become the symbol of the country’s historical relationship with America.

The copy of a three -masted, 32 armed frigates carrying Marquis de Lafayette throughout the Atlantic, France’s support for American independence from the Great Britain in the War of Revolution, was found to be on the dry pier near Bayonne, since the oak body was full of mushrooms four years ago.

The campaigns have collected € 5 million (£ 4.3 million) to change some of the rotten structure, but they say they need 5 million € to make the ship again suitable for the sea. Although he made an objection two years ago, the funds were not found.

A new defense for the remaining funds emerges as relations between France and the United States after Donald Trump threatened to bring 30% tariffs from the European Union to goods.

Emilie Beau, General Manager Hermione-La Fayette Association“We need a generous boss, and now we have very little time to find one. It has been three years on dry quay and 1,200 tons of wood should be in sea water and not dry.

“We moisturize the body, but this can lead to the development of more mushrooms. If someone stands out with funds, we hope that we can start working again to repair the trunk in September to sail again in 2027.”

L’Herinmione, which was built and costly for 26 million €, was released in 2015 and sailed to New York, where it was welcomed by an enthusiastic crowd.

In 1780, the original ship traveled to America to help George Washington’s War of Independence in the War of Independence. The settled Lafayette was the personal ambassador of Louis XVI for the man who would later become the first US President. Lafayette landed in Boston and went to the center of Washington to deliver the French aid message to the rebels.

L’Herinmione, nicknamed “Freedom Ship”, spent two years fighting with the British sea blockade before returning to France. In 1793, Western France landed and sank. The debris was discovered in 1984.

In 1992, a group of naval history enthusiasts established Hermione-La Fayette Association using historical techniques to control a copy of a 66-meter-long ship in the Old Royal Shipyard in Rochefort, but had modern standards to confirm the sailing of the ship.

L’erinmione plans had disappeared, but his sister Concorde was caught by the British navy in the 1790s, and the detailed drawings and measurements of a puzzle of more than 400,000 wood and iron were found in London.

Unlike the original, replication has modern navigation equipment and electric motors to enter and exit. It was also equipped with shower and toilets, unlike a wooden board with holes near the bow to be used by the original crew. The reproduction ball is fake; Otherwise, it is classified as a warship and is under the control of the French Navy.

In 2021, L’Hermione would visit the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and England, including sailing to Thames, but before the sailing, the workers discovered that the wood in the bow and ass and the cellated polypain were invaded, and both of them were invaded by wood -protected mushrooms.

“We know about these mushrooms, they existed in the 18th century, but it took six months to build a ship at that time, and if it didn’t come back or rotted, they just built one more. Frankly, we can’t do it. “We want to build a ship that lasts longer than then.”

The association applied for a new international appeal for the funds, saying that it was “now or never”.

“Approximately 10% of the trunk tree was damaged, we’ve changed the wood at the back, but now we need € 5 million urgently to complete the job,” he said.

“L’Hermione is a symbolic, historical ship. Not only a chef-technical success, but also the frigate of freedom and carried the values of freedom and solidarity among the peoples.

“Today it is a symbol of peace and humanity and represents diplomatic relations and common values in the difficult period of our countries. We do not want to lose it.”