Square du Serment-de-Koufra, Urban park in 14th arrondissement, Paris, France
The square du Serment-de-Koufra is a 2.75-hectare park at the Porte d'Orléans, laid out in 1930 on the site of the former Thiers fortifications. Its central allée Clarissa-Jean-Philippe runs through lawns and beds of purple-leafed plants, and a white stone statue of a nude female figure with one arm raised stands among trees and hedges, with a light-coloured building behind.
Created in 1930 on the site of the former Thiers fortifications, the square covers 27,516 m². Its name recalls the oath sworn by Colonel Philippe Leclerc's men after the Battle of Koufra in Libya on 2 March 1941: not to lay down arms until the French flag flew again over Strasbourg Cathedral. The spot is commemorative because the 2nd Armored Division under Leclerc entered Paris through the Porte d'Orléans on 25 August 1944; Strasbourg was liberated on 23 November 1944.
The central alley, named Allée Clarissa-Jean-Philippe in a ceremony led by mayor Anne Hidalgo and 14th-arrondissement mayor Carine Petit on 11 January 2019, runs through the square. The garden's name recalls the oath sworn by Colonel Leclerc's men after the Battle of Koufra in Libya on 2 March 1941: not to lay down arms until the French flag flew again over Strasbourg Cathedral.
The square sits at the Porte d'Orléans, with entrances from the place du 25-Août-1944, the avenue Ernest-Reyer and the place Édith-Thomas. Métro line 4 and tram line 3a both stop at Porte d'Orléans. The central path through the grounds is the allée Clarissa-Jean-Philippe.
The garden's name refers to the oath made on 2 March 1941 at Koufra in Libya, when Colonel Leclerc's men swore not to lay down arms until the French flag flew again over Strasbourg Cathedral. That pledge was fulfilled on 23 November 1944. The site is commemorative because the 2nd Armored Division entered Paris through the Porte d'Orléans on 25 August 1944.
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