Paris subway station renamed ‘Elizabeth II’ for day of Queen’s funeral
By Ben Morse and Xiaofei Xu, CNN
The Paris transportation network RATP announced it has changed the name of one of its stations to honor Queen Elizabeth II on the day of her funeral.
The George V Métro station, on Line 1 under the Champs-Élysées, was renamed after the late Queen for the day.
“The RATP group is paying tribute to the Queen of England by renaming the George V station to Elizabeth II for the day,” it said in a statement on Twitter Monday, accompanied by a picture of a plaque in the station with the Queen’s name and the years of her birth and death.
The station was named George V after the late Queen’s grandfather, King George V.
RATP added in reply to a question from a customer: “The change is temporary and we are only changing one out of two plates so as not to create trouble or problems for our travelers.”
The tribute comes on the day of the Queen’s funeral, which French President Emmanuel Macron attended.
In the hours after the Queen’s death, the French presidential palace paid tribute to her, thanking her for the role she played in modern history and the Franco-British relationship.
“She held a special status in France and a special place in the hearts of the French people,” the Élysée Palace said in a statement.
The Queen “loved France, which loved her back,” it added.
Queen Elizabeth II held the record for most visits to the Élysée Palace for a foreign sovereign. At various occasions, including the six state visits she made to France, the Queen has met with all eight presidents of the French Fifth Republic, which was established in 1959, according to the statement.
The Queen was fluent in French and made several public speeches in French while visiting the country.
“She who stood with the giants of the twentieth century on the path of history has now left to join them,” the statement said.
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