The statue of Vercingetorix that stands at Alise-Sainte-Reine was produced by Aimé Millet. It is 6.6 m high and weighs approximately 5 tonnes, and was made from hammered copper sheets. It was exhibited at the Palais de l’Industrie during the Salon in 1865. The young Gallic chieftain was portrayed as the archetypal Gaul of his time, with long hair and moustache, a necklace, and straps around his braccae.
Napoleon III probably decided to erect a statue on 19 June 1861, when he visited Alise at the beginning of the excavations carried out by the Commission de Topographie des Gaules.
The inscription on the pedestal reads: “Gaul united, forming a single nation, animated by a common spirit, can defy the universe. Napoleon III, emperor of France, in memory of Vercingetorix.”
Following the defeat of 1871, the figure of Vercingetorix became the symbol of a national hero.