The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen is the founding document of the French republic. A product of the 1789 French Revolution, it reflected a radically new view of human rights.
The Monument to the French Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen is located in the Champs de Mars gardens on Avenue Charles-Risler. Commissioned by the City of Paris, it was erected in 1989 on the occasion of the bicentennial of the French Revolution. It is the work of the Czech sculptor Ivan Theimer and contains many references to revolutionary images.
The building opens into an octagonal interior space, lit from above. Its external is adorned with engraved texts, reliefs and 12 stones inlaid with bronze seals, one for each of the European Community member states in 1989. There are two bronze obelisks covered with symbols and texts, including 1789 French Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen.
There are three statues: a man wearing a toga and holding several documents; a man inviting onlookers to read the texts carved on the obelisks; and a woman with a child who wears a hat made of newspaper chronicling the events of 1989.
