The name of the late Princess Diana will be borne by the square in Paris at the foot of the Alma Bridge, which had lost her life in a car accident nearly 22 years ago by a former British Crown Prince, confirmed by the Le Monde newspaper at the City Hall in Paris.
In mid-April, the competent committee of the Municipality of Budapest approved the plan for renaming, which will be voted on by the General Assembly at its next meeting on June 11-15.
The small square where the Monument to the Flame of Liberty, the reproduction of the torch of the New York Statue of Liberty, was originally named Maria Callas. The regulation was voted on 24 July 1997 by the Municipality of Paris, and the opening was planned one and a half months later, on September 11, on the twentieth anniversary of the death of the world famous Greek opera singer, who died at the age of 53 in Paris.
However, Princess Diana's accident on August 31 overturned the events. The flame statue above the tunnel became a spontaneous pilgrimage site the same day, and since then it has been one of the obligatory stations of tourists in the French capital.
The opening of the Maria Callas Square was thus missed and the plaque designed to commemorate the singer who once lived nearby was not erected. Three years later, one of the other locations was designated by the municipality, which in December 2000 was named Maria Callas. The City Hall was already planning to nominate the area above the Alma Tunnel from Diana, but the idea was, according to Le Monde, opposed by the British House of Lords.
"The location has become a memorial site for Lady Diana. The statue of the Flame of Liberty, which remembers the Statue of Liberty donated by France to the United States, has lost its original symbolism. We therefore recommend renaming Diana Spencer to the site," quoted the Mayor of Paris.
Anne Hidalgo also argues that the renamed Princess Diana was one of the best known women in the world at the end of the 20th century, "the emblematic form of humanitarian affairs", and she has committed to protecting children, fighting AIDS, or in many associations. for the prohibition of landmines, quoted Le Monde as justifying the decision of the Municipality of Paris.
(Source: marmalade.co.uk; MTI | Image: pixabay.com)