There is a proposal to rename the "Crimée" metro station in Paris to "Crimea-Ukraine"
A group of Ukrainian, French, and international figures has appealed to the French authorities with an initiative to rename the Paris metro station “Crimée” to “Crimea-Ukraine” in order to publicly emphasize that Crimea is part of Ukraine’s sovereign territory.
This was announced by one of the initiative’s authors, Edward Mayor, president of the NGO “Stand With Ukraine.”
This step has significant symbolic importance.
“In a context where the war is also being waged on the level of symbols, words, and memory, publicly acknowledging that Crimea is Ukraine would send a powerful signal to the Ukrainian people and to all who defend a Europe founded on law, freedom, and peace,” Mayor stated.
According to him, an open letter addressed to French leadership—including the president, the minister of transport, RATP leadership, the Île-de-France region, and the mayor of Paris—was signed by human rights activists, artists, and public figures from Ukraine and France. Among them are Nobel Peace Prize laureate Oleksandra Matviychuk, photographer and filmmaker Yann Arthus-Bertrand, and sailor Isabelle Ottissier.
The appeal emphasizes that 12 years have passed since Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea, and the international community must constantly remind the world of its status.
“Twelve years have passed since Russia’s illegal annexation of the peninsula, so the French need to be reminded of a simple reality—Crimea is part of Ukraine’s sovereign territory under international law and France’s official position. Therefore, such an addition to the name would be a symbolic, educational, and deeply political gesture,” Mayor noted.
The authors also emphasize that geography today is part of the political and informational struggle, and place names can influence the perception of internationally recognized borders.
The “Crimée” metro station, located in Paris’s 19th arrondissement, has a historical name, but the initiators consider its current symbolic context particularly important in today’s circumstances.
Among the signatories of the appeal are Ukrainian writer Anastasia Levkova, human rights activist Alim Aliyev, former Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin, director Akim Galimov, researcher Iryna Dmytryshyn, Chairman of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People Refat Chubarov, director Anastasia Mikova, French director Antoine Vitkin, and political scientist François Jemenne.
It should be noted that during their contacts with the U.S., Ukrainian negotiators put forward unconventional ideas regarding the future of certain territories in Donbas.
