Volontaires () is a station on line 12 of the

Paris Métro The Paris Métro (french: Métro de Paris ; short for Métropolitain ) is a rapid transit system in the Paris metropolitan area, France. A symbol of the city, it is known for its density within the capital's territorial limits, uniform architec ...

located in the 15th arrondissement. The station is named after the nearby ''rue des Volontaires''. In 1822, locals transformed an existing dead end into an alley that led to

rue de Vaugirard The Rue de Vaugirard (Street of Vaugirard) is the longest street inside Paris's former city walls, at . It spans the 6th and 15th arrondissements. The Senate, housed in the Palais du Luxembourg, is at 15 Rue de Vaugirard. Location The Rue de V ...

, hence, its initial name of ''Ruelle Volontaire'', with the "s" added later to pay homage to the soldiers of the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in coup of 18 Brumaire, November 1799. Many of its ...

History

The station opened on 5 November 1910 as part of the original section of the Nord-Sud Company's line A between Porte de Versailles and Notre-Dame-de-Lorette. On 27 March 1931, line A became line 12 when It was taken over by the

Compagnie du chemin de fer métropolitain de Paris The Compagnie du chemin de fer métropolitain de Paris S.A. (Paris Metropolitan Railway Company Ltd.), or CMP, was the forerunner of the RATP, the company managing the Paris Métro. Origin So as not to be dependent on the Chemin de fer de l ...

(CMP), incorporating it into the Paris Métro. From the 1950s, like most stations along the line, the platforms were modernised with the installation of red metal casings and golden advertising frames on the walls until 2015, when it was removed as part of the "Un métro + beau" programme by the RATP. It consisted of modernising the platforms by improving lighting, signages, as well as returning the characteristic beveled white tiles of the Paris métro to the station, thereby restoring the platforms to its original "Nord-Sud" decoration, while the station remained open. The new tiles were installed by May 2018, with all work completed by March 2019 after several delays and technical difficulties. In 2019, the station was used by 2,362,771 passengers, making it the 219th busiest of the Métro network out of 302 stations. In 2020, the station was used by 1,111,705 passengers amidst the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

, making it the 232nd busiest of the Métro network out of 304 stations. In 2021, the station was used by 1,734,848 passengers, making it the 203rd busiest of the Métro network out of 304 stations. On 7 April 2022, the RATP and in partnership with the Blomet Paradiso association, unveiled a new cultural panel along the corridors of the station. It details the rich artistic history of the district, often attributable to the Bal Blomet, a historic

cabaret Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music, song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, a casino, a hotel, a restaurant, or a nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dining o ...

of the

Roaring Twenties The Roaring Twenties, sometimes stylized as Roaring '20s, refers to the 1920s decade in music and fashion, as it happened in Western society and Western culture. It was a period of economic prosperity with a distinctive cultural edge in the ...

Montparnasse Montparnasse () is an area in the south of Paris, France, on the left bank of the river Seine, centred at the crossroads of the Boulevard du Montparnasse and the Rue de Rennes, between the Rue de Rennes and boulevard Raspail. Montparnasse has bee ...

that Joséphine Baker, Simone de Beauvoir, and

Ernest Hemingway Ernest Miller Hemingway (July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) was an American novelist, short-story writer, and journalist. His economical and understated style—which he termed the iceberg theory—had a strong influence on 20th-century f ...

frequented.

Passenger services

Access

The station has a single access at

. Unusually, it consists of an entrance and an exit both located within the same building at the corner of ''rue de Vaugirard'' and ''rue des Volontaires'', a rare occurrence on the network. The entrance is along ''rue de Vaugirard'' whereas the exit is along ''rue des Volontaires''.

Station layout

Platforms

The station has a standard configuration with 2 tracks surrounded by 2 side platforms. The lower portion of the side walls are vertical instead of elliptical, as are the other stations constructed by the

Nord-Sud company The Nord-Sud Company (English: North-South; french: Société du chemin de fer électrique souterrain Nord-Sud de Paris) was an operator of underground trains in Paris established in 1904, which built two lines (now Line 12 and part of Line ...

(today on lines 12 and 13). It is distinguished by the presence of niches along the entire length of the side walls, hence, are devoid of advertisements.

Other connections

The station is also served by lines 39, 70, and 89 of the

RATP bus network The RATP bus network covers the entire territory of the city of Paris and the vast majority of its near suburbs. Operated by the Régie Autonome des Transports Parisiens (RATP), this constitutes a dense bus network complementary to other public ...

, and at night, by lines N13 and N62 of the

Noctilien Noctilien is the night bus service in Paris and its agglomeration. It is managed by the Île-de-France Mobilités (formerly the STIF), the Île-de-France regional public transit authority, and operated by RATP (with 32 lines) and Transilien SNC ...

bus network.

Gallery

File:Volontaires rénovée quai Issy par Cramos.JPG, The station after the renovation File:Accès Station Métro Volontaires Rue Vaugirard - Paris XV (FR75) - 2022-01-22 - 2.jpg, Entrance of the station. The exit is on the other side. File:Accès Station Métro Volontaires Rue Volontaires - Paris XV (FR75) - 2022-01-22 - 2.jpg, Exit

References

*Roland, Gérard (2003). ''Stations de métro. D’Abbesses à Wagram.'' Éditions Bonneton. {{DEFAULTSORT:Volontaires (Paris Metro) Paris Métro stations in the 15th arrondissement of Paris Railway stations in France opened in 1910 Paris Métro line 12