by Martin Banks
Since Sir Keir Starmer became UK’s prime minister the by Brexit deteriorated relation with the EU is recovering, especially with French President Emmanuel Macron. But there is more.
The airport at Le Touquet-Paris-Plage is to officially take the name of “Elizabeth II Le Touquet-Paris-Plage International Airport”- reflecting the rich historical connections between this part France and the UK.
Whilst agreement for the name change had already been given by King Charles III, a date for the inauguration had yet to be set. But see this has now been confirmed for 17 May and the event will coincide with Le Touquet Air Show. It also comes just after the 80th anniversary of VE Day which will be marked in the UK with four days of celebrations from 5-8 May.
The bond that ties this part of France to England has been well established for decades. The deep roots linking Le Touquet to the opposite shore began with the purchase of the town by John Robinson Whitley, a linoleum magnate from Leeds, in 1894.
When the British entrepreneur bought a coveted stretch of land at Le Touquet that year he transformed the fortunes of this seaside town in Northern France. Whitley launched a construction boom in the village and its rapid expansion contributed to the French government’s creation of a separate commune in 1912.
Numerous prestigious hotels were built, and at its peak of prosperity in the Roaring Twenties the resort boasted the biggest casino in France by revenue, the Royal Picardy, an ultra-luxury hotel. In the past, it attracted Winston Churchill and inspired James Bond.
The 007 Suite at local Hotel Barriere Le Westminster is where Bond author Ian Fleming stayed and where Sean Connery was thought to have signed the contract for his Bond role. To this day, English is heard everywhere, from the Art Deco Westminster hotel to the lighthouse, which, on the occasion of the late Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee, was lit up with Her Majesty’s favourite colours.
The airport itself was designed in the 1930s to offer air transport to the British customers who flocked to Le Touquet. It is located 3 km east-south-east of the city of Le Touquet-Paris-Plage on the coast of northern France. The airport has made the international news on 2 May 1981 when an Aer Lingus flight carrying 108 passengers and crew was hijacked on a flight from Dublin to Heathrow.
The hijacker forced the pilots fly to Le Touquet where it then stood for nearly 10 hours before French armed forces troops stormed the aircraft and apprehended the suspect. No one was killed or injured.
All eyes will shortly turn to May 17 and the official renaming of the airport, an event likely to be marked by high level representatives from both sides of the English Channel.
By: N. Peter Kramer
