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Story summary
- U.S. President Donald Trump proposes a 76.2-meter triumphal arch in Washington that would surpass Paris’s Arc de Triomphe.
- French commentators criticize the plan, citing the Arc de Triomphe’s complex legacy.
- Historian Jean-Yves Le Naour says the French monument was built to protect human rights, not merely to glorify strength.
- French media note that past presidents commissioned grand works such as the Pompidou Center, the Louvre pyramid and the 110-meter Grande Arche.
