A friend of mine in France just sent me this article that appeared in a French newspaper.  Apparently the mayor of L’Orient, France, who is also Vice-President of the tourism board, would like to build a replica of the Bonhomme Richard to serve as a tourist attraction. What fun that would be! A colleague of mine had originally pitched this idea to the US Naval Academy a few years ago, but I guess it didn’t quite catch on. The BHR was built in L’Orient originally as the Duc de Duras, and then when it was loaned to the U.S., it was renamed Bonhomme Richard.  The French have already built a replica of the vessel Hermione, which will be visiting the U.S. next year. It cost 25 million euros to build it.

Here is an image of the BHR model from the article, courtesy of Ouest-France:

I am going to try to contact the mayor and lend my support.  Vive la France!