Rue de Siam

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48°23′14″N 4°29′24″W / 48.387202°N 4.490125°W / 48.387202; -4.490125

The Rue de Siam (Breton: Straed Siam; "Siam Street") is the main arterial street of Brest, France.

Toponymy

The street owes its current name to the arrival of three ambassadors led by Kosa Pan and sent by the King of Siam (present-day Thailand), on 29 June 1686, to meet King Louis XIV in Versailles. They had traveled aboard the ships l'Oiseau and La Maligne and were accompanied by six mandarins, three translators, two secretaries and a retinue of servants, laden with numerous gifts. They crossed the Rue Saint-Pierre to reach the hostel of the same name. The inhabitants were so amazed that they renamed the street.^{[citation needed]}

History

The street was quite narrow before World War II.

Soi Charoen Krung 36 Alley, the location of French Embassy in Bangkok, was renamed in 2013 to "Rue de Brest" to commemorate diplomatic relations, reciprocating the Rue de Siam.^[1]

Location

From the Place de la Liberté, in the centre of Brest, the Rue de Siam runs southwest to the Pont de Recouvrance, spanning the river Penfeld. Recouvrance is a working-class district of old Brest that contrasts sharply with the Rue de Siam where, in the 1950–60s, the city's chic stores and cafés were located.^{[citation needed]}

There used to be l'Épée café on the right and Les Antilles restaurant on the left. Midshipmen and officers of all nationalities used to have an aperitif at l'Épée and then cross the Rue de Siam to have supper at Les Antilles.^{[citation needed]}

In popular culture

The Rue de Siam is quoted by Jacques Prévert in his poem Barbara.^{[citation needed]}

Gallery

Monumental perspective from the Place de la Liberté opening to the Rue de Siam, with the roadstead of Brest in the background, and on the right, the steeple of Saint-Louis Church dominating the rebuilt centre of Brest.
The street nowadays
Bangkok's Rue de Brest