Infrastructure
The Paris Métro's $43 Billion Buildout Is Feeling the Olympics Bloat
A plan to push the system deep into the suburbs is facing delays tied to the 2024 Games and ticking off commuters.
Illustration: Aaron Fernandez for Bloomberg Businessweek
This article is for subscribers only.
From Georges Pompidou’s modern-art museum and François Mitterrand’s national library to Jacques Chirac’s Musée du quai Branly near the Eiffel Tower, France’s presidents have long shown a passion for lavish public works initiatives known as grands projets.
Emmanuel Macron’s project is shaping up as the most grand—and expensive—of them all. He’s backing an expansion of the transit system that would push the Paris Métro deep into the suburbs, boosting the economy and better connecting underserved areas to the city. “It’s a beautiful project,” Macron told a meeting of the country’s mayors in November. “It represents the ambition of our capital city and the surrounding region.”