Was Paschal Paul ? Impossible to walk in Corsica without asking the question. From Bastia to Ajaccio via Porto-Vecchio, streets, squares and quays bear his name. This little-known man in mainland France embodies a glorious episode in Corsican history. From 1755 to 1769, after having suffered the Genoese domination and before being annexed by France, the Isle of Beauty was an independent nation, of which he was the elected leader. This general, an admirer of Jean-Jacques Rousseau, even gave Corsica a constitution. It also remains, in the eyes of many historians, the source of successive Western democratic constitutions, especially that of the American nation. It is for this reason that the surname Paoli has spread throughout his island… but also in the United States: there are several countries that are called Paoli!
The streets, squares and avenues of France constitute a veritable history book. The most famous namesake (public street names) return to all municipalities, from north to south. Thus we find Gambetta from Paris to Marseilles and from Lille to Strasbourg. Same for me Louis Pasteur, Marie Curie or Voltaire. Not even to mention the General De Gaulle : it is exhibited in more than 3,900 streets, squares, avenues or quays. However, on the margins of the great national novel, other names awaken more singular episodes, linked to local history.
Take avenue Marianne-Toute-Seule, in Berck-sur-Mer (Pas-de-Calais): behind this enigmatic denomination, (…)
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