• Queen Elizabeth II died last Thursday at the age of 96.

  • The city of Le Touquet, in Pas-de-Calais, wishes to pay him a special tribute.

  • In municipal council, a deliberation must be voted to rename the airport of the city of the name of the Queen.

At the next city council, which will take place in October, the city of Le Touquet-Paris-Plage, in Pas-de-Calais, should vote on a somewhat special deliberation.

In tribute to Queen Elizabeth II, the town indeed wishes to rename its international airport in the name of the sovereign of England, who died a week ago at the age of 96.

It is not an unwelcome publicity stunt but rather a real tribute that a city that prides itself on being "the most British of French resorts" intends to pay to Elizabeth II.

Firstly because Le Touquet owes its development, in the late 19th century, in part, to the English industrialist Sir John Whitley.

But also because the seaside resort is a holiday resort very popular with the subjects of His Majesty.

The ties that unite the commune of Pas-de-Calais to the kingdom of Great Britain are so close that the bells of the belfry of the town hall resound with the same melody as that of Big Ben, in London.

The local tourist office has even concocted a "British tour", a guided tour telling the story of the influence of the British on the city.

The “most British of French airports”

The airport is another symbol of this proximity of Le Touquet to England.

In the early 1930s, what was then a simple "landscaped land" already hosted the personal plane of the future King Edward VIII.

At the same time, the one who was to become queen had come, accompanied by her uncle, to visit the city.

During this decade, the development of air traffic between London and Le Touquet enabled the transformation of the small site into a real international airport.



It is therefore quite logical that the municipality of Le Touquet wishes to give the name “Elizabeth II Airport” to its airport infrastructure.

"With this decision, our airport affirms and reinforces its status as the 'most British of French airports'", underlines the city in a press release.

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