TUNISIA: Paris to have either a Rue or Place Mohammad Bouazizi

Against a backdrop of French Cabinet ministers under fire for accepting gifts from Arab autocrats, one Paris politician is offering a gesture of appreciation for the Tunisian man whose Dec. 17 death by self-immolation sparked political uprisings in the Middle East and northern Africa.

Paris Mayor Bertrand Delanoe declared Wednesday that "there will be shortly a Mohamed Bouazizi square or street in Paris, in tribute to the Tunisian revolution," according to the official Tunis Afrique Presse news agency. 

The decision was made Tuesday after a unanimous vote by Paris' City Council to name a square or street in Paris after the produce vendor who set himself on fire after police closed down his stand. He died of his injuries Jan. 4.

The City Council's "vote was the expression of admiration, affection and support to the Tunisian people whose accomplishment was something extraordinary, not only for Tunisia itself and the Arab world, but also for the entire world," Delanoe told the news agency by phone. 

"I know very well the Tunisian people and their youths who, with pride, maturity and no violence, wanted to change their country's future," he said.

France, home to an estimated 600,000 Tunisians, has a complicated relationship with Tunisia, a former colony that remains a tourist destination, business market and integral part of the Francophonic world. 

-- Borzou Daragahi in Beirut

Photos: Mohammad Bouazizi and the Eiffel Tower of Paris. Credit: TAP

Comments

[eYe M dEf]

@RWh:

USA didn't invent English, so why you frontin like you're British claiming offense from French when Brits would see you and your Yankee ilk "pollution" as well? English isn't even "official" language of USA so why think French are "spurning" anyone except longtime rivals across English channel? With Spanish poised to rival English 1-day as USA's most widely spoken, nothing will even distinguish English as particularly American anymore.

I applaud French citizens for wanting to expand their horizons by adopting a language of peoples that that they already share so much cultural and colonial history. Now, RWh, you must learn a 2nd language before complaining when others adopt a different language ahead of yours. You could get a head start on the bilingual future of USA.

[Richard Morris]

I am campaigning to get Mr Bouazizi named as Time Magazine's 'Person of the Year 2011. Please visit www.aviewfromhamcommon.blogspot.com to see how to help and sign the petition at
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/bouazizi4time/

Thanks for your support

[James]

RWh . You are as simple minded as an American (from Texas) can be... we all Tunisians and Arabs feel sorry for you that your western fake "civilisation" is ending... but it's time

[RWh]

I read an article recently where there is a French group who wants to expunge the English language usage from within their borders. I guess they are looking to replace English with Arabic. Funny that they consider us a pollution to the French culture when Arabs will eventually erase their ideas of what it means to be French.