The replica, which stands at 2.8m tall, began its trip from France to the United States on the back of a flatbed truck last week.

Yesterday, workers gently uncovered the plastic film used to protect the statue in its trip across the Atlantic.

The work is being loaned by the Museum of Arts and Crafts in Paris to the US for 10 years, in a gesture aimed at cementing Franco-American friendship.

“It is also a reminder of the importance of the message of liberty and enlightening the world,” said Philippe Étienne, French ambassador to the US, at an inauguration ceremony.

“It is the essential importance of freedom in our democracies, inside our societies, and also in the world.”

The larger version of the Statue of Liberty, who stands at 93m including the base, was given by France to the US as a gift. It was assembled in 1886 and has been on Liberty Island in New York Harbor ever since.

The 450kg bronze replica was crafted from Frédéric-Auguste Bartholdi’s original Statue of Liberty plaster model and will be displayed on Ellis Island until July 6, so it will be in New York for the Independence Day celebrations.

“We found it so important to have this meeting between the little and the big sisters, especially on July 4,” Étienne said.

“And then on July 14, which is our national day, Bastille Day, it will be inaugurated again in Washington.”