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The Rue de Rennes (French pronunciation: [ʁy d(ə) ʁɛn]; lit. 'Street of Rennes') is a thoroughfare in the 6th arrondissement of Paris. It is a major shopping street on the left bank of the capital.
The Rue de Rennes begins at the Place du Québec and ends at Place du 18-Juin-1940 (formerly Place de Rennes). It is a straight north–south street, over one kilometre long and twenty metres wide. Opened in the mid-nineteenth century, it is a recent thoroughfare in terms of Paris history: its buildings, of fairly homogeneous scale, are all post-1850.
The Rue de Rennes is served by Line 4 of the Paris Métro at Saint-Germain-des-Prés, Saint-Sulpice and Saint-Placide stations, Line 12 at Rennes station and Lines 4, 6, 12 and 13 at Montparnasse–Bienvenüe station.
The street is named after the city of Rennes, because in 1853, the street ended at the "Gare de Rennes", today the Gare de Paris-Montparnasse, from which lines serving Brittany depart.
Rue de Rennes was built during the Second Empire. It was originally intended to join the Seine. For this reason, the numbering begins at 41, the previous numbers having been reserved for the part of the street that was to be cut north of Boulevard Saint-Germain. The existing section was excavated twice.
It was opened by decree on 9 March 1853, from Rue Notre-Dame-des-Champs and Rue de Vaugirard to Place du 18-Juin-1940. The plan appended to this decree gave the road a width of just 20 meters. However, it was opened up, following different alignments, to a width of 22 m, as shown on the plan appended to the decree of 25 July 1855, setting its level between the Rue de Vaugirard and Place du 18-Juin-1940.
The second section, from Boulevard Saint-Germain to the Rue de Vaugirard and Rue du Regard, follows the decree of 28 July 1866. The construction of this thoroughfare led to the disappearance of several streets:
The third section was never built; the route finally chosen involved the destruction of the Institut de France.
In 1880, the point where the Rue de Rennes meets the Boulevard du Montparnasse was renamed "Place de Rennes" (now Place du 18-Juin-1940). In 1977, the area in contact with Place Saint-Germain-des-Prés became part of the latter.
On 30 March 1918, during the First World War, a shell fired by Big Bertha exploded at the corner of the Rue de Rennes and Boulevard Raspail. The following day, another shell exploded at no. 106.
The bombing of 17 September 1986, which took place in front of the Tati store at nos. 140-140 bis, is commonly known as the "Rue de Rennes bombing". It was the deadliest attack of the September 1986 series, with 7 dead and around 60 injured. The entire series, which began on 4 September, resulted in a total of 11 fatalities. Carried out in broad daylight, it was claimed by CSPPAC, a false name concealing Hezbollah acting on behalf of Iran, which demanded the release of Lebanese leader Georges Ibrahim Abdallah. The leader of the terrorist commando responsible for the attacks, Fouad Ali Salah, was arrested in March 1987. A plaque inaugurated by President François Mitterrand honours the memory of the victims.
The Rue de Rennes was redeveloped in the early 2010s. The first stage, involving the southern section between Place du 18-Juin-1940 and Boulevard Raspail, was launched in May 2011 and completed on 30 June 2012, with the widening of sidewalks, the creation of bicycle lanes and delivery spaces. To make these improvements possible, the bus lanes have been removed, although four bus lines, including two Mobilien lines, run on them.
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