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The growing connections between Menton and France both prior to and increasingly following its annexation into France can be reconstructed through the figures which the city’s government have chosen to honor in its street names. The christening of a street in someone’s honor signifies a perceived connection between the respective figure and city as well as a positive symbolism attributed to that figure and their actions. Upon closer inspection of Menton’s streets, one can find names harkening back to three separate pillars of Mentonnais memory. There are those honoring famous or particularly beloved children of the town, those honoring the impressive list of international visitors to the city during the latter half of the 19th century, and finally those which anchor Menton in its French identity by honoring generals, politicians, and events in a collective French history.
Those streets honoring locals are often the most difficult to spot, with relatively few of them remaining. One such street is the Rue Albini, honoring one of the oldest influential Families of the town, the Albinis. This name is even mentioned on the deed documenting Menton’s status as a possession of Monaco in 1346. Members of the family held important positions in local government and the community through the 19th and into the 20th century, yet today, the street honoring this family is only a few meters long, wedged between the coast and the Avenue Félix Faure, itself named for a French head of state. The residual nature of this street speaks to a long-since completed shift towards valuing national heroes over Mentonnais ones.
Far more common in the townscape of Menton are streets with names you may see in any other French town or city: Rue de la Republique, Rue Victor Hugo, Quail Bonaparte, etc. These streets reflect the city’s more contemporary French identity, and with one important exception, their names can be traced back only to a point in time following France’s acquisition of Menton in 1861.
The exception to this rule is the Quail Bonaparte, running between the houses of the old town and the coast. This name honors Napoleon Bonaparte, not as the prolific leader of France, but rather as the General Bonaparte who, spent time in Menton during the summer of 1796, staying at nearby No. 5 rue de Brea, before continuing on the first Italian campaign. The fact that this wharf carries the name of a well known French emperor is, in this case, an indicator only of the links between the French state and Menton which have naturally existed to some degree even preceding 1861. On the other hand, the plethora of streets which have come to carry names of French Statesmen and other figures in the more recent past show the “frenchification” of Menton following the annexation.
Among the streets carrying the names of French statesmen, there are those who are honored simply for their significance to the French nation, such as the first President of the third republic, Adolph Thiers, with the Avenue Thiers, a small residential street near Menton’s train station. Another example is that of the Avenue Astride Briand, which honors the French Prime Minister and Nobel Peace Prize winner Astride Briand who lead the government for 11 terms, including the years of the first world war. These names honor national figures of France who have no further specific connection to the city of Menton.
In addition to this, two streets in Menton carry the names of well-known statesmen, who in addition to their significance to French history hold a specific significance to the Mentonnais and their French Identity. Félix Faure, who was President of France from 1895 to 1899, visited the town on March 5th, 1896, in order to attend a ceremony related to the Statue of the Attachment. To learn more about this monument, see the section entitled ‘Monuments’. His visit reaffirmed the French identity of the town and would serve as inspiration for several of his successors to visit the town as well. In commemoration of this visit, and as a symbol of Menton’s fidelity to France, the Avenue Félix Faure, which connects the historic center of Menton to the casino, carries his name. Among the heads of state who would visit Menton in the decades to come is also Charles de Gaulle, who visited the town in 1960 and in whose honor the Avenue du Général de Gaulle has since been named. This visit, almost precisely a century after Menton’s Annexation into France can be seen as the penultimate symbol of the frenchification process in Menton. To learn more about President Charles de Gaulle’s reception by the Mayor of Menton see ‘Monuments’.
In addition to these statesmen symbolizing Menton’s political frenchification, there are a number of streets which carry the names of prominent French scientists and artists, symbolizing Menton’s cultural veneration of French figures. Among these are the Avenue Carnot and the Rue Victor Hugo. The honoring of such figures is evidence of a cultural identification with France which has grown out of political unity. More specifically, there are also streets honoring those who have fought and died for the French state, such as the Avenue de Verdun, named for the battle of Verdun, fought during the First World War and the Rue des Frères Picco, honoring two brothers from Menton who lost their lives in the same conflict.
Finally, there are those streets and squares which commemorate influential or prominent guests who came to Menton during the tourism boom which followed its annexation into France, see ‘Post-Annexation Tourism Boom’. Among these guests are royal visitors such as Queen Victoria of Great Britain, her son Prince Edward VII, King Albert I of Belgium and his daughter-in-law Queen Astrid who honeymooned in Menton in 1926. They are honored respectively through the Victoria Square, Rue Edward VII, Rue Albert 1st, and Promenade Reine Astrid. Queen Victoria visited for a short time in 1882 and is still honored in various ways throughout the city, see ‘Monuments’ and her son Albert found a particular love for Menton, spending significant amounts of time there and encouraging the tourism boom.
Additionally, there are also streets honoring Henry Bennet, the man who is widely considered to have began the winter tourism boom, recommending Menton’s climate as a cure to a range of ailments, see see ‘Post Annexation Tourism Boom’. In a similar vein, streets in Menton have also been named to honor several affluent members of the upper echelons of society who came to the town for various health reasons, such as the American Lawyer and author James Bruyn Andrews, and the Author Kathrine Mansfield. Though not directly perpetrating the “frenchification” of Menton, it is beyond a doubt, that their presence in the town was deeply linked to its expansion and growing renown following 1861. Visitors such as these facilitated the infrastructural development and “opening up” of Menton, by way of increasing demand for its connection to the modernized French transportation system.
Menton’s street names are therefore intricately linked to its identity, and the shifting nature of these names over the past centuries serves as key evidence as to which figures are most closely woven into the self-image of the city. It is also more than clear that the renaming of Menton’s streets following 1861 served to honor individuals associated with the French state and with the city’s service to the French state following its annexation.
Frenchification of Menton 