French town names street after late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat

A majority of the town council in La Seyne-sur-Mer, on the Mediterranean coast, has voted in favour of naming one of its streets after late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.

In a statement issued yesterday, city mayor and a member of the French Socialist Party Marc Vuillemot said that some council members opposed the decision saying Arafat was a controversial figure.

The municipal council also decided to name another street after late Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, Vuillemot added, pointing out that both leaders deserved the recognition because they won the Nobel Peace Prize.

This is the first time a French city names one of its streets after the Palestinian leader.

Arafat died on 11 November 2004, in a military hospital in the French capital, Paris.