The Compagnie du chemin de fer métropolitain de Paris S.A. (Paris Metropolitan Railway Company Ltd.), or CMP, was a subsidiary of the

Empain group The Empain group was a loose grouping of companies founded by Édouard Empain (1852–1929) of Belgium and controlled by the Empain family. From 1881 until merging with Schneider & Cie in 1969, the companies engaged in a broad range of activities ...

that is the forerunner of the

RATP The RATP Group () is a French state-owned enterprise (EPIC) that operates public transport systems primarily in Paris, France. Headquartered in Paris, it originally operated under the name (). Its logo represents the Seine's meandering path th ...

, the company managing the

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

Origin

So as not to be dependent on the

Chemin de fer de l'État Chemin or Le Chemin may refer to: Arts and media * ''Le Chemin'' (Emmanuel Moire album), 2013 album by French singer Emmanuel Moire * ''Le Chemin'' (Kyo album), 2003 album by French band Kyo ** "Le Chemin" (song), title song from same-titled Kyo a ...

(State Railways) for its rail transport, the City of

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

decided in 1883 on the construction of a subway network. There were some tensions between the national government and the city for the control of the operation, but the approach of the World Fair of 1900 speeded the decisions. In 1895,

Louis Barthou Jean Louis Barthou (; 25 August 1862 – 9 October 1934) was a French politician of the French Third Republic, Third Republic who served as Prime Minister of France for eight months in 1913. In social policy, his time as prime minister saw the ...

, minister for public works, accepted that the construction work should be carried out by the city. That included building the tunnels, viaducts and stations and contracting for the operation. In 1897 the city council chose the General Traction Company, owned by the Belgian Baron Édouard Louis Joseph Empain. An act of 30 March 1898 declared a public utility for "the construction of a metropolitan railway by electric traction, intended for the transport of the travelers and their hand luggage". The General Traction Company formed the CMP in April 1898.

The first lines

Construction started under the responsibility of engineer

Fulgence Bienvenüe Fulgence Bienvenüe (; 27 January 1852 – 3 August 1936) was a French civil engineer, best known for his role in the construction of the Paris Métro, and has been called "Le Père du Métro" (Father of the Metro). A native of Uzel in Britta ...

. Line 1 was opened in 1900 after twenty months of work. Another line, Porte Dauphine-Nation (now Line 2), opened in April 1903.

Mergers

In 1929, the company merged with the Company of the North-South underground electric railroad of Paris. In 1938, the CMP took over the Sceaux line, which had until then formed part of the Paris-Orleans railway company. In 1942, the company amalgamated with the Company of public transport of the Paris area which was limited to surface transport. The files of the company were destroyed at the

Liberation of Paris The liberation of Paris () was a battle that took place during World War II from 19 August 1944 until the German garrison surrendered the French capital on 25 August 1944. Paris had been occupied by Nazi Germany since the signing of the Armisti ...

. In 1949 the functions of the CMP were taken over by the newly formed

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Compagnie du chemin de fer metropolitain de Paris Public transport operators in France Transport in Paris Defunct intermodal transport authorities Defunct transport companies of France