Monument de Solidarność, Solidarity monument on the Esplanade des Invalides, Paris, France

The Monument de Solidarność is located on the Esplanade des Invalides in Paris and displays contemporary forms expressing unity and resistance. The structure combines artistic elements with symbolic details reflecting the history of the labor movement.

The monument commemorates the Gdańsk shipyard strikes of August 1980 that gave rise to Solidarność, the first independent trade union in the Soviet bloc, and the movement's challenge to the Polish communist regime. It was inaugurated on the Esplanade des Invalides in 2019 by French and Polish officials, with Lech Wałęsa present, on the 30th anniversary of the first partially free elections in Poland.

The monument stands on the Esplanade des Invalides near the Polish embassy quarter, and its inauguration in 2019 was attended by Lech Wałęsa himself. A plaque bears the name Solidarność in the movement's red lettering, and Polish and French delegations lay flowers there on 31 August, the anniversary of the Gdańsk Accords.

The monument is easily reached via Metro stations Invalides or Varenne and sits in a public square with free access. Informational plaques on site explain the historical context.

The monument reuses the concrete blocks of a 1982 installation by the sculptor Jean Worms, erected on the Esplanade des Invalides at the initiative of French and Polish activists during martial law in Poland. The blocks, which had been stored for years, were incorporated into the permanent memorial inaugurated in 2019.