A Park Path Becomes a Memorial: Paris Names an Allée After Shiri, Ariel and Kfir Bibas

 On Tuesday 6 October 2026, the eve of the third anniversary of the 7 October 2023 attacks, the City of Paris inaugurated an allée in the Parc Monceau (8th arrondissement) carrying the names of Shiri, Ariel and Kfir Bibas. The ceremony was led by Mayor Emmanuel Grégoire, with part of the Bibas family and representatives of the Paris Council and the Jewish community of France attending. Shiri and her sons, Ariel (4) and Kfir (9 months), were abducted from their home in Kibbutz Nir Oz by Hamas. The council adopted the naming unanimously after a minute of silence.

Three things a toponymist notices

1. A family, not a figure. Most commemorative names honour one individual. This one dedicates a path to a mother and two children together. The park's other allées honour single people, such as Michel Berger, whose allée was named in 2012 because he lived near the park for a long time. The park is also crossed by allées named for France Gall, the Comtesse de Ségur and Jacques Garnerin, and by the avenue Ferdousi.

2. Victims rather than achievers. The Parc Monceau names usually celebrate artists and public figures. This one is a memorial name. The City says it inscribes the memory of the Bibas family in public space and reaffirms its commitment to remembrance and to fighting antisemitism, racism and discrimination. The deliberation says the children's violated innocence has become a symbol of antisemitic hatred. Ariel and Kfir, with their red hair, have become emblematic of the drama of those abducted on 7 October.

3. The names themselves. All three are Hebrew. Ariel is usually glossed "lion of God", Kfir "young lion" and Shiri "my song". These meanings come from general onomastic knowledge, not from the sources above.

Why the place matters

The City chose an allée it describes as particularly calm, in what it calls one of the most beautiful gardens in Paris. A path in a park invites a pause in a way a street name does not. Memorial toponymy depends on that kind of setting: the name is meant to be read slowly, not passed on the way to somewhere else. timesofisrael

A name on a plaque is a modest thing. What matters is who gets to be named and where, and in the Conseil de Paris this decision was unanimous.