White enamel with a green border, fastened at the top of a post at the corner of Rue Réaumur and Rue Vaucanson in the 3rd arrondissement. This is the very first plaque of its kind in Paris. It reads: "Piste cyclable Paul-Varry 1996-2024 militant du vélo" (Paul Varry Bike Lane 1996-2024 cycling activist). On the initiative of Ariel Weil, the mayor of the French capital's central districts, and with the unanimous support of the Council of Paris, a bike lane has been officially named for the first time. On Wednesday, July 9, the lane was dedicated in memory of the 27-year-old cyclist who was killed by a motorist on October 15.
"We are taking a strong, symbolic step that will remain in the history of Paris," declared Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo, during a solemn ceremony attended by several local officials and the family and friends of Varry. An active member of the advocacy group Paris en Selle (Paris on the Saddle), Varry was a committed activist who "believed, as we do, in a city freed from cars, where bicycles could travel in complete freedom and safety," Hidalgo continued. The lane "is both a tribute and a promise: a promise that his voice will not fall silent, that his fight will not be forgotten, and that his city will continue, with determination, to build a safer, fairer and more humane form of mobility," she added.
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