Editing Paris Métro (section)

=== Fulgence Bienvenüe project ===
[[File:1903-06, Station Chevaleret Métro aérien rive gauche (1).jpg|thumb|Construction of [[Chevaleret station]], 1903]]
[[File:Station Métro Jaurès Ligne 2 - Paris X (FR75) - 2022-04-28 - 8.jpg|thumb|Line 2 at [[Jaurès station]]]]
On 20 April 1896, Paris adopted the [[Fulgence Bienvenüe]] project, which was to serve only the city proper of Paris. Many Parisians worried that extending lines to industrial suburbs would reduce the safety of the city. <ref>{{Cite web |title=Railways and Stations – Sembleue – Memories of France |url=https://sembleue.com/category/infrastructure/railways-and-stations/#:~:text=On%2020%20April%201896,%20Paris,initially%2039-year%20leases). |access-date=2025-04-10 |language=en-GB}}</ref> Paris forbade lines to the inner suburbs and, as a guarantee, Métro trains were to run on the right, as opposed to existing suburban lines, which ran on the left.

Unlike many other subway systems (such as that of London), this system was designed from the outset as a unified system, initially of nine lines.{{sfnp|Bobrick|1981|p=149}} Such a large project required a private-public arrangement right from the outset – the city would build most of the permanent way, while a private concessionaire company would supply the trains and power stations, and lease the system (each line separately, for initially 39-year leases).{{elucidate|date=May 2016}}{{sfnp|Bobrick|1981|p=149}} In July 1897, six bidders competed, and The Compagnie Generale de Traction, owned by the Belgian [[Baron Empain|Baron Édouard Empain]],
won the contract; this company was then immediately reorganised as the [[Compagnie du chemin de fer métropolitain de Paris|Compagnie du chemin de fer métropolitain]].{{sfnp|Bobrick|1981|p=149}}

Construction began in November 1898.{{sfnp|Bobrick|1981|p=149}} The first line, [[Porte Maillot (Paris Métro)|Porte Maillot]]–[[Porte de Vincennes (Paris Métro)|Porte de Vincennes]], was inaugurated on 19 July 1900 during the [[Exposition Universelle (1900)|Paris World's Fair]]. Entrances to stations were designed in [[Art Nouveau]] style by [[Hector Guimard]]. Eighty-six of his entrances are still in existence.

Bienvenüe's project consisted of 10 lines, which correspond to current Lines 1 to&nbsp;9. Construction was so intense that by 1920, despite a few changes from schedule, most lines had been completed. The shield method of construction was rejected in favor of the cut-and-cover method in order to speed up work.{{sfnp|Bobrick|1981|p=151}} Bienvenüe, a highly regarded engineer, designed a special procedure of building the tunnels to allow the swift repaving of roads, and is credited with a largely swift and relatively uneventful construction through the difficult and heterogeneous soils and rocks.{{sfnp|Bobrick|1981|pp=150–151, 162}}

[[Paris Métro Line 1|Line 1]] and [[Paris Métro Line 4|Line 4]] were conceived as central east–west and north–south lines. Two lines, ''ligne 2 Nord'' (Line 2 North) and ''ligne 2 Sud'' (Line 2 South), were also planned but Line 2 South was merged with [[Paris Métro Line 5|Line&nbsp;5]] in 1906. [[Paris Métro Line 3|Line&nbsp;3]] was an additional east–west line to the north of line 1 and line 5 an additional north to south line to the east of Line&nbsp;4. [[Paris Métro Line 6|Line&nbsp;6]] would run from [[Nation (Paris Metro and RER)|Nation]] to [[Place d'Italie (Paris Métro)|Place d'Italie]]. Lines&nbsp;[[Paris Métro Line 7|7]], [[Paris Métro Line 8|8]] and [[Paris Métro Line 9|9]] would connect commercial and office districts around the [[Palais Garnier|Opéra]] to residential areas in the north-east and the south-west. Bienvenüe also planned a circular line, the ''ligne circulaire intérieure'', to connect the six mainline stations. A section opened in 1923 between [[Invalides (Paris Metro and RER)|Invalides]] and the [[Boulevard Saint-Germain]] before the plan was abandoned.