Paris street clash: Rue Margaret Thatcher or Rue Bobby Sands?

» Mark Moloney

Left-wing councillors to submit counter-motion that a street be named after Hunger Striker Bobby Sands

A ROW has broken out among councillors in Paris over whether to name a street in honour of British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher MP or Hunger Striker Bobby Sands MP.

Councillor Jerome Dubus of the right-wing Union for a Popular Movement has proposed that a street or square in the city be named after Thatcher as "a small gesture for a great lady," adding that her legacy was “80% positive”.

The proposal caused outrage among leftist politicians. Group leader Councillor Ian Brossat of the Left Front said the policies of 'The Iron Lady' had an “appalling impact on the state and the working class”. He said left-wing councillors will submit a counter-motion that a street be named after Hunger Striker Bobby Sands, whom he described as “a symbol of resistance who died defending the right of people to self-determination”.

There is already a 'Rue Bobby Sands' in the Paris suburb of Saint-Denis along with streets in four other cities in France and a community garden in Brittany named after him. A street in Lyon is named after fellow Hunger Striker Patsy O'Hara. 

The proposals are expected to be debated in the council on 22 April.