Just above the Pont de l'Alma tunnel in Paris stands a full-size replica of the Flame of the Statue of Liberty, a gift from the American people to France in 1987, celebrating the centennial of the Statue of Liberty and the friendship between the two nations.
But the flame took on a different meaning on August 31, 1997, when Princess Diana was killed in a car crash in the tunnel directly below. Within days, flowers, photos, and tributes began appearing at the base of the flame. Nobody organized it. Nobody planned it. It simply became the place where people needed to go.
Almost 30 years later, the memorial is still there. The city has never officially designated it as such, and the flame itself has nothing to do with Diana. But grief doesn't wait for official designations. People from around the world still leave flowers, notes, and photographs at its base, turning a symbol of Franco-American friendship into one of the most powerful memorials in Paris.
It's not on most tourist maps. But it's worth finding, a reminder that Diana's flame was never extinguished.