Station closures in Paris for South Korean president's visit

Another difficult morning in Parisian transport... Due to a state visit. The visit to France of the President of South Korea on Tuesday September 8 prompted the police headquarters to close several stations in Paris, including the very busy Charles de Gaulle - Étoile.

This major connection hub, where the RER A (one million travelers per day) and metros 1, 2 and 6 intersect, will be closed from 9 a.m. Tuesday, until the authorities allow its reopening. Trains will not stop and connections will therefore not be possible. The Kléber (line 6) and Argentine (line 1) stations will also be closed.

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“These closures should be worked on further upstream”

This type of closure, although extremely penalizing for users, is relatively common. If the station is closed, connections cannot be maintained because the emergency exits, included in the security perimeter, are not available.

These decisions from the police headquarters increasingly annoy user associations, especially as they are often announced at the last minute. “These closures should be worked on further upstream between RATP, IDFM [Île-de-France Mobilités] and the police,” argues the Plus de trains association on X. Emergency exits could be maintained just in case, connections would be ensured and there would be five times fewer users penalized.” The users association, however, recognizes “a small improvement: we learn it the day before and not at the last minute like previous times.”