Argentine (Paris Métro)


Argentine is a station on Line 1 of the Paris Métro, located on the boundary between the 16th arrondissement and the 17th arrondissement, in the western part of the city.

Location

Like most stations on Line 1, Argentine station lies on an east–west route through Paris from Vincennes in the east to La Défense in the west. Specifically, the station is underneath Avenue de la Grand Armée, the extension of the Champs-Élysées west of the Arc de Triomphe, at its intersection with Rue d'Argentine. In relation to the rest of the city, Argentine straddles the border between the 16th and 17th arrondissements of Paris.

History

Argentine station opened on 1 September 1900, six weeks after the opening of the initial segment of Line 1 between Porte de Vincennes and Porte Maillot, as part of the gradual opening of stations on the inaugural line of the Métro.
Upon its opening, the station was known as Obligado, the name of the nearby cross-street at the time, in turn named after the Battle of Vuelta de Obligado, an Anglo-French victory over the Argentine Confederation in 1845 commanded by Juan Manuel de Rosas.
The name remained until 25 May 1948, when Rue Obligado was renamed Rue d'Argentine, as a good-will gesture after the visit of Eva Perón to France and as a mark of respect to Argentina, which was a source of aid to the French during World War II; large shipments of grain and beef arrived from Argentina to feed the population struggling to get their fields and livestock back in order.
The station entrance is actually on the Avenue de la Grande Armée, close to the Rue Villaret de Joyeuse.

Automation

As part of RATP's plan to fully automate Line 1, Argentine station was subject to periodic closures for platform adjustment and station renovation, as well as the installation of platform screen doors. Such upgrades were performed on 19–21 September 2008.

Station layout

Argentine station has a simple two side-platform setup with two tracks. As the Paris Métro runs inversely to normal railways in the rest of France, the southern track is used by trains heading east to Château de Vincennes and the northern to La Défense – Grand Arche. There are two access points, 36 and 37 Avenue de la Grand Armée, located across the street from each other.