The Mayor of Paris is looking to rename an avenue in the 16th arrondissement, named after a military figure who used cruel methods during the colonization of Algeria by France in the 19th century. However, the mayor of the district is opposed to this decision.
The proposal to rename the avenue will be the subject of a symbolic wish at the next Paris Council meeting in mid-December, and a deliberation by the summer of 2024, announced Laurence Patrice, the Deputy Mayor in charge of historical memory. The proposed new name for the avenue, situated between Porte Dauphine and Place Victor-Hugo, would be Hubert Germain, a former resistance fighter, Companion of the Liberation, and minister who passed away in 2021.
The city hall justifies this name change by the “discredit that now affects the memory of Robert Bugeaud” and “the extremely harmful role he played in the history of these two countries,” France and Algeria. The mayor stated that Bugeaud had been “guilty of what would now be called war crimes” during the 1830s and 1840s, using “lethal and inhumane methods” in Algeria. The mayor also mentioned Bugeaud’s “exactions” in Paris during the repression of the 1834 Republican insurrection, a moment that has been memorialized as the massacre on Rue Transnonain.
However, the mayor of the 16th district, Jérémy Redler, disagrees with the idea of renaming streets, calling it a “political mistake.” He believes it is a subjective decision and emphasizes the administrative burden placed on residents. Redler also stated that he had not been consulted by the central city hall.
Since 2001, only five street names have been changed in Paris, and the city hall emphasized that it prefers to add and complement history with explanation, rather than removing or renaming. Anne Hidalgo, the mayor of Paris, also expressed a preference for adding to history rather than taking away, and her predecessor Bertrand Delanoë had renamed a street associated with a French surgeon who was a supporter of Nazi Germany. This approach aligns with their sentiment that street names reflect shared values and history.
