Front Populaire (French pronunciation:[fʁɔ̃pɔpylɛːʁ]) is a station on Line 12 of the Paris Métro. Located in Aubervilliers on the border with Saint-Denis, the station is named in honour of Front Populaire, a coalition of left-wing parties that governed France from 1936 to 1938. It was the 301st station to open, opening on 18 December 2012 as the new northern terminus of line 12.
History
Construction in July 2012
Line 12 began operating on 5 November 1910 from Porte de Versailles to Notre-Dame-de-Lorette. During its construction, an extension to the north was planned and provisions were made at the end of the tunnels. These provisions were used in the 1960s for the construction of the A1 autoroute, putting an end to the possibility of using it for the line's extension.[2]
Towards the end of the 1990s, when the fourth Contrat de plan État-région (2000-2006) was released, an extension of line 12 was included in the plan to provide métro service to the communes of Saint-Denis and Aubervilliers. Consultations began in 2001 and public inquiries were conducted from 10 June 2003 until 11 July 2003 to determine the construction details and location of the station, with the declaration of public utility occurring on 8 June 2004.[3] The station was part of the Paris bid for the 2012 Summer Olympics.[4]
Construction
Construction broke ground on 25 June 2008.[5] The station was built by open-air excavation sheltered by diaphragm walls where the walls were built before excavation of the station box to prevent the ground from collapsing inwards. By the end of 2009, the platform walls and mezzanine were completed.[6] On 15 July 2010, the tunnel boring machine, Élodie, reached the station from pont de Stains, then continuing its way towards Boulevard Périphérique, where the exit shaft was located in September 2010.[7] In order to enter the station, a submerged drilling technique was employed; the station was flooded before the tunnel boring machine pierced a specially designed watertight diaphragm wall. The first escalator was installed on 3 February 2012.
Opening
The station opened as part of the first phase of the extension of line 12 from Porte de la Chapelle to Mairie d’Aubervilliers on 18 December 2012, although the tunnels had already been completed to Mairie d’Aubervilliers.[8] The station was the northern terminus of line 12 until the second phase of the extension to Mairie d'Aubervilliers opened on 31 May 2022.[9][10]
In 2019, the station was used by 2,802,852 passengers, making it the 190th busiest of the Métro network out of 302 stations.[11] In 2021, the station was used by 1,948,542 passengers, making it the 183rd busiest of the Métro network out of 305 stations.[12]
Naming
During development and construction, the station was known as Proudhon–Gardinoux, after Rue Proudhon (named for Pierre-Joseph Proudhon, the "father of anarchism") and Rue des Gardinoux.[13]
In 2011, Syndicat des transports d'Île-de-France agreed that the station would be known as Front Populaire, named after the nearby Place du Front Populaire in Aubervilliers. This would honour Front Populaire, a coalition of left-wing parties that governed France from 1936 to 1938.[13]
The station has a subtitle of Aubervilliers - Saint-Denis, denoting its location on the border between the two communes.
Passenger services
As with all new metro stations since 1992, the station is fully accessible.
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