France Lights Eiffel Tower For America’s 250th β€” World Leaders Honor Historic Milestone

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France lit the Eiffel Tower in red, white, and blue July 3 to honor America’s 250th anniversary β€” a powerful reminder that the friendship between the two nations reaches back to the founding.

The iconic Paris monument displayed a “USA 250” message against its golden glow, kicking off days of international tributes as the United States marked 250 years since declaring independence July 4, 1776.

France, America’s first ally, went all-in on the celebrations. The Palace of Versailles staged a fireworks and drone show. The French aerobatic team Patrouille de France flew over the Statue of Liberty β€” France’s 1884 gift to America β€” releasing red, white, and blue smoke trails June 9.

The statue itself was illuminated in patriotic colors Saturday night.

“May this milestone renew the shared commitment to the promise of freedom, justice, opportunity and democracy.”

The “LibertΓ© 250” mission continued through June and July, with French jets flying over the National Mall, Mount Vernon, and Arlington National Cemetery, where French service members honored American military sacrifices.

Across the English Channel, Britain’s King Charles III sent a congratulatory message to President Donald Trump recognizing the “extraordinary evolution” of the relationship between former foes now bound as the closest of allies.

“The story of the relationship between our two nations is one of extraordinary evolution, from overcoming conflict to forging one of the closest and most productive alliances the world has seen,” King Charles wrote.

The Royal Marines Band performed at the Great American State Fair on the National Mall. Britain’s Red Arrows aerobatic team flew over New York and the Hudson River Saturday, joining an international flypast. British Ambassador Christian Turner hosted a celebration at his residence marking the anniversary of the U.S.-U.K. economic partnership deal.

Canada joined the party with a ceremonial flypast over Ottawa featuring two Canadian CF-18 Hornets alongside two U.S. F-35 Lightning II fighter jets. Niagara Falls was illuminated in red, white, and blue. Canada gifted 250 maple trees to be planted in Washington and the 13 states bordering Canada.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney quoted FDR’s 1936 words about the U.S.-Canada border as “the noblest monument to peace and to neighbourly economic and social friendship in all the world.”

“Canadians and Americans have built our friendship and prosperity one generation at a time,” Carney said. “Together, we have stood in the face of tragedy, from American firefighters helping to combat the flames in Fort McMurry, to Canadians opening their homes to stranded American passengers after 9/11.”

France, the U.K., and Canada participated in a July 4 international naval review off the coast of New York, joining warships from over 130 invited foreign navies and coast guards. The U.S. Navy hosted more than 50 American vessels in the seventh such showcase of global maritime cooperation.

In Rome, Chicago-born Pope Leo XIV β€” the first American pope β€” visited the official residence of U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See Brian Burch for dinner. Burch and the Holy Father discussed “President Trump’s bold leadership and American efforts to pursue peace, religious freedom, and the need for moral clarity and courage around the world,” according to the U.S. Embassy to the Holy See.

The exchange of gifts included a U.S. World Cup jersey, a commemorative Freedom 250 baseball, and a homemade apple pie. Pope Leo confirmed he’s rooting for the country of his birth in the World Cup.

The pope received the National Constitution Center’s 2026 Liberty Medal Friday “for his lifelong work promoting religious liberty and freedom of conscience and expression around the world.” In a letter addressed to the American people, Pope Leo wrote June 25: “May this milestone renew the shared commitment to the promise of freedom, justice, opportunity and democracy.”

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni visited the American embassy in Rome Thursday, calling the two powers “sister nations, united by a special relationship that grows stronger day after day.” She noted the contributions of more than 20 million Italian-Americans to U.S. prosperity.

Russian President Vladimir Putin sent Trump a message wishing him and his loved ones “health, well-being and every success,” and all American citizens “happiness and prosperity.”

“Over the course of two and a half centuries, many significant pages have been written in the history of relations between our nations,” Putin wrote. “We fought as allies in two world wars, together liberating humanity from the horrors of Nazism.”

Putin spoke with Trump by phone, and the leaders discussed pressing international matters.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy likened Ukraine’s struggle against Russian aggression to America’s fight for independence. “Now, in the 21st century, America’s influence and importance are certainly no less,” Zelenskyy wrote. “And we see that particularly clearly in Ukraine, which is fighting for its independence, freedom, and our people’s right to happiness with much the same hope, the same purpose, and the same determination with which Americans won and defended their own independence.”

He called Trump to offer congratulations, thanking the United States for assistance from Javelins and Patriots to political support.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum observed July 4, “Today marks 250 years of the independence of the United States. We send congratulations to their people and their government. And we also recall that all nations have the right to be free and independent,” according to La Jornada.

The milestone anniversary drew tributes spanning continents β€” a testament to America’s enduring influence and the alliances forged over two and a half centuries.

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