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*Rue du Brexit*
Brexit Street
Length	0.325 km (0.202 mi)
Location	Beaucaire, Occitanie
Other
Known for	Brexit

Rue du Brexit (English: Brexit Street)^[1] is a 325-metre-long (1,066 ft) circuitous road in Beaucaire, Occitanie, France.^[2] It was named after Brexit in 2016 by the town's mayor as a tribute to the United Kingdom following their vote to leave the European Union in the 2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum.^[3]

43°47′34″N 4°38′34″E / 43.7929°N 4.6429°E / 43.7929; 4.6429

History

The road that would become Rue du Brexit in Beaucaire was previously unnamed. It is a circuitous road on an industrial estate that leaves Rue Robert Schuman (named for a founder of the European Economic Community) and rejoins it some 60 m (200 ft) later.^[3]^[4] In 2016, following the United Kingdom's vote to leave the European Union the Front National mayor of Beaucaire Julien Sanchez, decided to name the road Rue du Brexit as a "homage to the decision of the sovereign British people".^[4] Sanchez also justified Rue du Brexit as he said the then unnamed road needed a title to assist emergency services with location.^[2] The motion for the naming was approved by Beaucaire council by a 29–9 vote.^[1]

Reaction

Reaction to the new street name was mixed worldwide. Leave.EU which campaigned for the UK to leave during the referendum called it "A fine choice!".^[5] Sanchez revealed to French radio that he had received several messages of support from the UK, some of which he said were from Members of Parliament.^[1] However, criticism was leveled at it for the location and direction with the American Washington Post calling it "an ugly, dead-end road".^[5] Some of the local residents of Beaucaire also criticised Sanchez for using an English word for a French street.^[4] Some newspapers also alleged it was done as a political reminder to French voters of the promise to hold a French referendum on European Union membership if the Front National leader Marine Le Pen won the 2017 French presidential election.^[6]