Grand Paris, une histoire de gares en lien avec les grands événements, des Expositions Universelles aux Jeux Olympiques et Paralympiques

This article aims to show the links between the construction of stations and major events in the Paris metropolis, through the example of three stations now located in the Grand Paris, which allow parallels between the construction of transport infrastructure for the Universal Exhibitions, the 1924 Olympic Games and the Olympic and Paralympic Games that took place 100 years later. On the one hand, we will see how these major events make it possible to rethink mobility in the Grand Paris, and on the other hand, to what extent a station built for the 1878 Universal Exhibition, the one in Colombes which was used for the 1924 Olympic Games or the one in Saint-Denis Pleyel, located near the Athletes’ Village and other infrastructures that are used for the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, contribute to the transformation of the territories where they are located and find their place in the reconfiguration brought about by the construction of the new Grand Paris Express metropolitan transport network. We will see to what extent the undertaken projects concern broader urban developments, generate programmatic reflections and promise ambitious architectural approaches, which also reflect political visions. The construction of the new Saint-Denis Pleyel transport hub, presented as capable to transform the territory of Plaine Commune where the youngest and most precarious population of the Ile-de-France currently lives, has required complex engineering structures, generated the construction of new parts of the city (which require enormous financial investments) and has undergone developments that could make the Pleyel district a desirable place in the Grand Paris.