This is one of the few stops on the Paris metro that is still usable at rush hour. Behind a hidden door of the Porte des Lilas station (lines 3 bis and 11), in the 19th arrondissemente district of Paris, there is a staircase that leads to a disused platform. A blue plaque bearing the name of the station, white tiles on the wall, advertising panels… On the surface, the place looks exactly like the 303 other stations who occupy the belly of Paris.
Pictured here in February 2023, the Porte des Lilas-Cinéma station in Paris’ 19th arrondissement has not welcomed any passengers since 1939. | Le Badaud via Wikimedia Commons
On closer inspection, however, some vestiges take us back to an earlier time. First, a sentry box that once housed the station master, responsible for monitoring the platforms, and above all a wooden strapontin where the ticket puncher officiated, immortalized by the famous song by Serge Gainsbourg.
These various facilities disappeared during the 1970s, supplanted by turnstiles and then by video surveillance cameras… But they still exist here, on this timeless platform where a thousand memories seem to be waiting for a train to come and pick them up.
Footage in the subway
A true open-air museum, the Porte des Lilas-Cinéma station saw its last passenger pass through in 1939. Since its closure, it has served as a siding, a testing ground for new prototypes – such as and 51 MPsthe world’s first pneumatic-tyred metro model – and even to train novice drivers.
Above all, for over half a century it has welcomed French and international film crews who wish to exploit this urban setting and underground without paralyzing traffic. “Between Porte des Lilas station and Hahaanother “ghost” station, the filmmakers can shoot on a kilometer of disused line”explains Karine Lehongre-Richard, head of filming at RATP*. To optimize each passage, the maximum speed of the trains is limited to 10 km/h, four times less than usual.
In order to adapt to the staging choices, the “ghost” station changes costumes, covering all the eras from 1920 to the present day. For example, it is made up in New York hideout in John Wick: Chapitre 4 (2023) – a filming produced in fall 2021– or covered in Nazi propaganda in Women in the Shadows (2008). “We don’t intervene directly on the setsinsisted Karine Lehongre-Richard. But we offer solutions to film crews.” Among other things, access to a complete photo library to facilitate the choice of costumes, sets, carriages, advertisements and plans displayed on the walls… and even the color of metro tickets!
Unsurprisingly, the resemblance of the “ghost” station to other Parisian stopovers makes the metamorphoses easier. All you have to do is replace the blue plaque that adorns the station wall and you are teleported, as if by magic, to another place. If it is stamped “Abbesses” in The fabulous destiny of Amelie Poulain (2001) and “Concorde” in Women in the Shadowsit is at the Les Lilas-Cinéma station that these scenes were shot. In addition, the station also hosts the filming of advertisements, music videos and television series.
Another look at Paris
“During the scouting, the station remains in its 1930s state to allow the teams to project themselves into their scenario”indicates the person in charge of filming at RATPThe main goal is to get production on track. “There is work to be done on script analysis, scouting with the film crews and coordination so that all the teams are mobilized.”adds Pierre Audiger, head of special operations for culture and partnerships at RATP. Which generally requires six to twelve months of preparation in advance.
Behind the scenes, RATP staff are also involved: qualified drivers, lighting and maintenance technicians, heritage services and even a few extras. Karine Lehongre-Richard, who has been doing this behind-the-scenes work for eighteen years, is pleased to have briefly shared the stage with Jean-Paul Belmondo in A Man and His Dog (2008).
Other prestigious names have paraded on the platform of the “ghost” station of Les Lilas: Meryl Streep, Mathieu Kassovitz, Gérard Jugnot, Keanu Reeves, the Coen brothers, Robert de Niro, Sophie Marceau… Among others. Has the Parisian metro become a historical institution of the capital, just like its most emblematic monuments? “In cinema, the metro is more recognizable than the Eiffel Tower”believes Karine Lehongre-Richard. Less glamorous, no doubt, but which gives the scenes filmed there a more familiar, more everyday anchoring, at the level of the individual.
*Thanks to Emma Rourre, press officer at RATP, for facilitating the discussions with Karine Lehongre-Richard and Pierre Audiger.
Source: www.slate.fr
