Since 2014, Landowski's monument to Paul d'Estournelles de Constant has had a prominent place in Le Mans, near the Quinconces.
Formerly very discreet at the end of the driveway on Avenue de Paderborn, the monument is now a must-see.
Born in La Flèche in 1852 and awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1909, Paul d'Estournelles de Constant is a little-known figure in contemporary history, even in his native département. Long associated with defeatism because, before 1914, he had encouraged reflection on the Franco-German rapprochement (like Joseph Caillaux, another forgotten Sarthe native), he was one of the promoters of international arbitration, at the origin of the League of Nations.
A senator from the Sarthe, his political and diplomatic career was devoted to conciliation between states, with a great openness to international affairs and new ideas such as arbitration, the creation of a European federation, equality and the right to vote for women, and globalisation with the rise of the "yellow peril".
D'Estournelles was ahead of his time, even a visionary. The whole history of his family, of Protestant origin, predestined him for the peaceful battles he led during his many terms of office.