Rond-Point de la Liberté

The Rond-Point de la Liberté serves as a major traffic intersection where eight distinct roads converge near the edge of the La Défense business district. At its center stands a sculpture by César Baldaccini titled Le Pouce, or The Thumb. The massive bronze appendage, over thirty feet tall, draws motorists and pedestrians alike to this otherwise functional junction. It arrived here in nineteen ninety-four, transformed from a smaller cast into a monument that looms over the rush of cars circling the plaza every day.