[ad_1]
While Britain’s longest reigning monarch “held a special place in the hearts of French people”, as President Emmanuel Macron put it, one place in the French capital was especially important to the Queen. FRANCE 24 spoke to shopkeepers and grieving visitors at a flower market in central Paris that was recently renamed in honour of Queen Elizabeth II.
The late Queen, who died on Thursday aged 96, visited France more than any other foreign country, meeting all 10 French presidents who took turns at the Élysée Palace during her 70 years on the throne.
“Elizabeth II mastered our language, loved our culture and touched our hearts,” Macron said in English in a video message on Friday. “We are grateful for her deep affection for France.”
The Queen made the last of her five state visits to France in 2014, to mark the 70th anniversary of the D-Day landings. Stopping in Paris at the end of the trip, she unveiled a plaque at a flower market that was renamed in her honour.
The ceremony was a “fitting tribute” to the Queen, said Mélissandre Somenzi, owner of the Cité des fleurs, a flower stall run by three generations of her family.
“British people have a soft spot for flowers and the Queen especially so,” she said, holding up a picture of the Queen visiting her stall, accompanied by former French president François Hollande and the mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo.
“People from the UK are always happy to see this picture when they tour the market,” she said. “The Queen loved France and France loved her back.”
Elizabeth was a 22-year-old princess when she first visited the marché aux fleurs in central…
[ad_2]
Source : france24
