The MetroStop Podcast

How Do Metro Stations Get Their Names?

I say it every week, we stop by stations named after artists, intellects, innovators; every station's name is a signal or memory pinned to a place.  Listeners have me asked about how the metro stations get their names, who decides and what the criteria are so, in this inter season -bonus episode, we find out.   Sources  Metro: where does the iconic white tiling found in every station come from? - Sortiraparis.com [https://www.sortiraparis.com/en/what-to-visit-in-paris/history-heritage/articles/306745-metro-where-does-the-iconic-white-tiling-found-in-every-station-come-from?utm_source=copilot.com]  Are you familiar with... the friezes in the metro? | Behind-the-scenes [https://www.ratp.fr/en/discover/decouvrir/behind-scenes/are-you-familiar-friezes-metro?utm_source=copilot.com]  What about the iconic Street-Name Plaques of Paris? - French Moments [https://frenchmoments.eu/street-name-plaques-of-paris/]  Wikipedia - List of Metro Stations [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Paris_M%C3%A9tro_stations]  The secrets behind the Paris Metro station names [https://www.dw.com/en/the-secrets-behind-the-paris-metro-station-names/g-61462511?utm_source=copilot.com]   Where do Paris Metro stations get their names? - CityMonitor [https://www.citymonitor.ai/analysis/where-does-paris-get-its-metro-station-names-taxonomy-4115/?utm_source=copilot.com]  12 metro names explained | Un jour de plus à Paris [https://www.unjourdeplusaparis.com/en/paris-insolite/origine-noms-stations-de-metro?utm_source=copilot.com]  16 things you might not know about the names of Paris metro stations | Fabric of Paris [https://fabricofparis.com/2023/10/31/16-things-you-might-not-know-about-the-names-of-Paris-metro-stations.html?utm_source=copilot.com]  grandparisexpress.fr [https://www.grandparisexpress.fr/stations-areas]  Les Echos [https://www.lesechos.fr/pme-regions/ile-de-france/grand-paris-express-pour-eteindre-la-polemique-ile-de-france-mobilites-rebaptise-deux-gares-1788962] Paris Secret [https://parissecret.com/vote-noms-stations-grand-paris-express/]    Music: Embracing this World by Keys of Moon | https://soundcloud.com/keysofmoon [https://soundcloud.com/keysofmoon]  Music promoted by https://www.chosic.com/free-music/all/ [https://www.chosic.com/free-music/all/]  Creative Commons CC BY 4.0  https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/]

S2.10 Bobigny–Pantin–Raymond Queneau

Bobigny–Pantin–Raymond Queneau is a station at the north end of line 5.  Raymond Queneau believed words were toys—tools for invention and discovery. Philosopher, writer and co-founder of Oulipo, Queneau didn’t just write novels—he rewrote the very idea of what a novel could be.  Oulipo – Wikipedia [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oulipo] Wikipedia [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oulipo]  Fnac [https://www.fnac.com/a230809/Raymond-Queneau-Cent-mille-milliards-de-poemes] Site Gallimard [https://www.gallimard.fr/catalogue/cent-mille-milliards-de-poemes/9782070104673] Radio France [https://www.radiofrance.fr/franceculture/podcasts/l-instant-poesie/cent-mille-milliards-de-poemes-de-raymond-queneau-la-poesie-en-partage-9400284]  Le petit lecteur [https://www.lepetitlecteur.fr/zazie-dans-le-metro/analyse-langage/]  EBSCO Research Starter – Oulipo [https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/literature-and-writing/oulipo-group-authors] EBSCO [https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/literature-and-writing/oulipo-group-authors]  Tetragrammaton – Creativity of Limitation [https://www.tetragrammaton.com/content/cosmicrespiration-9xrr3-nt2b2] tetragrammaton.com [https://www.tetragrammaton.com/content/cosmicrespiration-9xrr3-nt2b2]  Gilliam Writers Group – Oulipo’s Legacy [https://www.gilliamwritersgroup.com/blog/the-oulipos-legacy-using-literary-constraints-to-innovate-writing] gilliamwritersgroup.com [https://www.gilliamwritersgroup.com/blog/the-oulipos-legacy-using-literary-constraints-to-innovate-writing]  Oxford Academic – The Oulipo and Modern Thought [https://academic.oup.com/book/32423] Oxford Academic [https://academic.oup.com/book/32423]  Music: Embracing this World by Keys of Moon | https://soundcloud.com/keysofmoon [https://soundcloud.com/keysofmoon]  Music promoted by https://www.chosic.com/free-music/all/ [https://www.chosic.com/free-music/all/]  Creative Commons CC BY 4.0  https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/]

S2.9 Villejuif- Louis Aragon

Villejuif- Louis Aragon is the last eastern station on line 7.  He will reinvent himself again and again — Dadaist provocateur, Surrealist visionary, communist soldier‑poet, Resistance hero, loyal Party intellectual, and finally the man who questioned the very ideology he once defended.    Sources: Louis Aragon | Surrealist poet, novelist, playwright | Britannica [https://www.britannica.com/biography/Louis-Aragon]  Courte biographie de Louis Aragon [https://www.toupie.org/Biographies/Aragon.htm?utm_source=copilot.com]  Biographie de Louis Aragon [https://www.bacfrancais.com/biographie/louis-aragon?utm_source=copilot.com]  Louis Aragon | The Poetry Foundation [https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/louis-aragon]  Louis Aragon – Left in Paris [https://leftinparis.org/people/louis-aragon-2/]  ARAGON, Louis (1897-1982) | Le Manuscrit FrançaisLe Manuscrit Français [https://www.lemanuscritfrancais.com/fr/manuscrit/aragon-louis-1897-1982-15/]  Elsa Triolet dans la Résistance - Comité Départemental du Souvenir des Fusillés de Châteaubriant de Nantes et de la Résistance en Loire-Inférieure [https://resistance-44.fr/elsa-triolet-dans-la-resistance/?utm_source=copilot.com]   Triolet, Elsa (1896–1970) | Encyclopedia.com [https://www.encyclopedia.com/women/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/triolet-elsa-1896-1970]  Elsa Triolet (Author of Roses à crédit) [https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/89733.Elsa_Triolet]  Khrushchev’s secret speech | Facts, Date, & Significance | Britannica [https://www.britannica.com/event/Khrushchevs-secret-speech?utm_source=copilot.com]  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Aragon [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Aragon]   en.wikipedia.org [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Aragon]    Music: Embracing this World by Keys of Moon | https://soundcloud.com/keysofmoon [https://soundcloud.com/keysofmoon]  Music promoted by https://www.chosic.com/free-music/all/ [https://www.chosic.com/free-music/all/]  Creative Commons CC BY 4.0  https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/]

S2.8 Picpus – Courteline

Picpus is a station on line 6   Georges Courteline (1858–1929) was a French satirist, playwright, and novelist, famous for his biting humor and sharp critiques of bureaucracy and middle-class life.  25 juin 1929 : Mort de Georges Courteline | SavoirsetCulture.fr [https://savoirsetculture.fr/25-juin-1929-mort-de-georges-courteline.html]  Georges Courteline | Satirist, Playwright, Humorist | Britannica [https://www.britannica.com/biography/Georges-Courteline]  Archives of Seine-et-Marne [https://archives.seine-et-marne.fr/fr/georges-courteline-1858-1929].  Libre Théâtre [https://libretheatre.fr/couple-famille-loeuvre-de-courteline/]  EBSCO [https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/biography/georges-courteline]  L'Officiel des spectacles [https://www.offi.fr/artiste/georges-courteline-70900.html] THEATREonline.com [https://www.theatreonline.com/Artiste/Georges-Courteline/9886].  jds.fr [https://www.jds.fr/paris/spectacles/theatre/les-courtes-de-courteline-881013_A]  Babelio [https://www.babelio.com/livres/Courteline-Boubouroche/427834] SchoolMouv [https://www.schoolmouv.fr/fiches-de-lecture/boubouroche-georges-courteline/fiche-de-lecture].  Bibliothèque Numérique TV5MONDE [https://bibliothequenumerique.tv5monde.com/livre/358/Messieurs-les-ronds-de-cuir].  Music: Embracing this World by Keys of Moon | https://soundcloud.com/keysofmoon [https://soundcloud.com/keysofmoon]  Music promoted by https://www.chosic.com/free-music/all/ [https://www.chosic.com/free-music/all/]  Creative Commons CC BY 4.0  https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/]

S2.7 Goncourt

Goncourt is a station on line 11  The creation of the Académie Goncourt in 1900 was a response to the Académie Française. Edmond Goncourt had a vision in life that he only saw through in his death.  Sources: Radio France [https://www.radiofrance.fr/franceculture/podcasts/soft-power/l-academie-francaise-l-enieme-renouveau-d-une-institution-quadri-centenaire-7299854] RFI [https://www.rfi.fr/en/france/20241208-dictionary-academie-francaise-highlights-conflicting-visions-french-society-linguists] atlangue.com [https://atlangue.com/fr/role-academie-francaise-normalisation-litteraire-influence-enjeux-historiques/] Académie Goncourt [https://www.academiegoncourt.com/les-membres] Académie française [https://www.academie-francaise.fr/les-immortels/les-quarante-aujourdhui] La Croix [https://www.la-croix.com/culture/florian-zeller-et-eric-neuhoff-elus-a-l-academie-francaise-20251106] Radio France Internationale [https://www.rfi.fr/en/culture/20251104-laurent-mauvignier-wins-france-s-goncourt-literary-prize-for-family-saga] Sortiraparis.com [https://www.sortiraparis.com/en/what-to-visit-in-paris/history-heritage/articles/336263-did-you-know-that-the-winner-of-the-prix-goncourt-receives-a-check-for-10] France 24 [https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20251104-laurent-mauvignier-wins-france-s-top-literary-award-for-family-saga] Wikipedia [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prix_Goncourt] CNEWS [https://www.cnews.fr/culture/2025-11-04/combien-le-laureat-du-prix-goncourt-gagne-t-il-895856]  Herodote.net [https://www.herodote.net/29_janvier_1635-evenement-16350129.php] Oxford Academic [https://academic.oup.com/book/16540/chapter/172231493]  https://www.caminteresse.fr/culture/pourquoi-les-membres-de-lacademie-francaise-sont-ils-surnommes-les-immortels-11194390/ [https://www.caminteresse.fr/culture/pourquoi-les-membres-de-lacademie-francaise-sont-ils-surnommes-les-immortels-11194390/]  University of Central Arkansas [https://bing.com/search?q=Acad%C3%A9mie+Fran%C3%A7aise+exclusion+of+women+history]  https://www.rfi.fr/en/culture/20251104-laurent-mauvignier-wins-france-s-goncourt-literary-prize-for-family-saga [https://www.rfi.fr/en/culture/20251104-laurent-mauvignier-wins-france-s-goncourt-literary-prize-for-family-saga]  Did you know? The winner of the Prix Goncourt receives a check for €10. - Sortiraparis.com [https://www.sortiraparis.com/en/what-to-visit-in-paris/history-heritage/articles/336263-did-you-know-that-the-winner-of-the-prix-goncourt-receives-a-check-for-10]  Édition des libertés [https://editiondeslibertes.fr/2025/01/20/histoire-du-prix-goncourt-une-tradition-litteraire/] La France pittoresque [https://www.france-pittoresque.com/spip.php?article14349]    Music: Embracing this World by Keys of Moon | https://soundcloud.com/keysofmoon [https://soundcloud.com/keysofmoon]  Music promoted by https://www.chosic.com/free-music/all/ [https://www.chosic.com/free-music/all/]  Creative Commons CC BY 4.0  https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/]