Submission – Paris Métro Map for May 11, 2020 from “Le Parisien”

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Unofficial Maps

Submitted by Timur, who says:

France is starting to reopen after its COVID-19 shutdown. This map shows the Métro stations that will be closed on reopening day. It seems the criterion in selecting which stations will be open and which ones closed is to try to avoid overcrowding. Map from Le Parisien, based on this map from the RATP (link no longer active – Cam).

Transit Maps says:

While I appreciate the intentions of the newspaper in publishing this map, it’s unfortunately not great. The naming of stations seems to be almost random, with only a few of the 60 stations that will be closed earning labels, while some – but not all – of the terminus stations get ridiculously enormous bold labels. It’s not too bad in the end, because the article that this graphic accompanies lists all of the closures line by line, but it’s still a curious approach. One wonders why they don’t just point their readers to the official RATP map?

Speaking of which, the layout of this little diagram actually matches the RATP map exactly (I overlaid them in Photoshop to check), so it would seem that the newspaper’s designers just used that as a basis for theirs. It’s really instructive to note how random and disorganized the network looks without the familiar path of the Seine running through the city.

Source: Le Parisien

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