To this day, many Poles and French people recall with emotion the collective demonstrations in the country on the Seine following the imposition of martial law in Poland on 13 December 1981. The symbol of the protests against the communist authorities at the time, and at the same time an expression of support for the forced emigrants and the striking activists associated with the Independent Self-Governing Trade Union "Solidarność", first became an encampment with a flag hanging from a wall.The Solidarity flag flying in the wind was first displayed in front of the Polish embassy in the vicinity of the consulate on Place des Invalides and then as a Solidarity sign made by the Polish artist Grzegorz Wróblewski in the presence of the unions: a white eagle cut out of cloth and mounted on a tall pole near the Hôtel des Invalides. The phenomenon of the French public's collective empathy with the Poles, which lasted for two years during martial law, was also manifested, among other things, through the mass sending of humanitarian parcels to the country.

Commemoration of Solidarity on the Place des Invalides

These events were commemorated with a square bronze Solidarity plaque with the symbol of Poland fighting, a Latin cross and the flags of Poland and France, situated at the site of the once-thousand-protesting Parisians meeting in the Place des Invalides. The plaque bears a convex inscription in French and Polish that reads in identical terms: "In this place, starting from 13 December 1981, Poles and French people protested en masse and in solidarity against the introduction of martial law and persecution in Poland, testifying their support for Solidarity, for the freedom and independence of Poland. Let us remember those days".

The first stone plaque at this site (the original design, apart from the material and manufacturing technique, differed in the absence of images of flags) was founded in the 1990s. On the occasion of its unveiling on 1 September 1997, Laurent Fabius, President of the French National Assembly, gave a speech. In a solemn speech, he recalled:

"As so often in our widely shared history, two words: Poland and freedom, have united in the hearts of the French people. We were well aware that Poland's struggle for independence and democracy was the catalyst for the birth of a Europe with power over its destiny."

New Solidarity commemorative plaque

In 2020, the original plaque was replaced with a new one on the initiative of the Gazeta Polska Club in Paris with the support of the French authorities. The project was funded by the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Culture and History Foundation. The renovation aimed to preserve the memory of Polish-French solidarity and emphasise the importance of joint action in the struggle for freedom and democracy.