Rue du Brexit

Rue du Brexit (English: Brexit Street)[1] is a 325-metre-long (1,066 ft) circuitous road in Beaucaire, Occitanie, France.[2] It was named after Brexit in 2016 by the town's mayor as a tribute to the United Kingdom following their vote to leave the European Union in the 2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum.[3]

History

The road that would become Rue du Brexit in Beaucaire was previously unnamed. It is a circuitous road on an industrial estate that leaves Rue Robert Schuman (named for a founder of the European Economic Community) and rejoins it some 60 m (200 ft) later.[3][4] In 2016, following the United Kingdom's vote to leave the European Union the Front National mayor of Beaucaire Julien Sanchez, decided to name the road Rue du Brexit as a "homage to the decision of the sovereign British people".[4] Sanchez also justified Rue du Brexit as he said the then unnamed road needed a title to assist emergency services with location.[2] The motion for the naming was approved by Beaucaire council by a 29-9 vote.[1]

Reaction

Reaction to the new street name was mixed worldwide. Leave.EU which campaigned for the UK to leave during the referendum called it "A fine choice!".[5] Sanchez revealed to French radio that he had received several messages of support from the UK, some of which he said were from Members of Parliament.[1] However, criticism was leveled at it for the location and direction with the American Washington Post calling it "an ugly, dead-end road".[5] Some of the local residents of Beaucaire also criticised Sanchez for using an English word for a French street.[4] Some newspapers also alleged it was done as a political reminder to French voters of the promise to hold a French referendum on European Union membership if the Front National leader Marine Le Pen won the 2017 French presidential election.[6]

See also

References
  1. "French town's far-right mayor gets Brexit Street to pay homage to UK vote". The Local. Retrieved 3 January 2020.
  2. "Brexit is a dead end-street in France". CNBC. 29 December 2016. Retrieved 3 January 2020.
  3. "National Front mayor creates 'Rue du Brexit' in French town". BBC News. Retrieved 3 January 2020.
  4. Crumley, Bruce (26 December 2016). "French rightwing mayor creates 'rue de Brexit' in honour of British vote". The Guardian. Retrieved 3 January 2020.
  5. "A French town has named an ugly, dead-end road the 'Rue du Brexit'". The Washington Post. 28 December 2016. Retrieved 3 January 2020.
  6. "Vu du Royaume-Uni. À Beaucaire, une rue du Brexit "qui ne mène nulle part"". Courrier International (in French). 28 December 2016. Retrieved 3 January 2020.
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