#PorteOuverte is French for which phrase?

#PorteOuverte is French for “open door.”

The expression combines porte, meaning “door,” with ouverte, the feminine form of “open,” agreeing with the feminine French noun porte. With the hashtag attached, it became a concise invitation: people in Paris were telling stranded strangers that their doors were open to them.

The hashtag spread after the 13 November 2015 attacks, when explosions and shootings disrupted normal travel and left people seeking safe places to stay. Social-media users employed #PorteOuverte to offer overnight shelter, turning an ordinary phrase into a recognizable symbol of immediate civic solidarity.

It is easy to confuse the phrase with a broader slogan about hospitality, but the literal translation is straightforward. “Free room,” “shared table,” and “safe street” capture related ideas, not the words of the French expression. The hashtag’s practical meaning came from how Parisians used it during that specific emergency.