The missions of Société du Grand Paris
A law was passed in June 2010 that paved the way for the new Grand Paris Express. The French government simultaneously created a public agency to oversee this unprecedented project called Société du Grand Paris. By its sheer magnitude, complexity, and ambition, the Grand Paris Express indeed required a specialised entity that could be allocated its own funding and resources.
Société du Grand Paris now ranks as a major project developer with nearly 1,000 employees. Forming an elite multidisciplinary team, most of them are experts in large-scale transportation and development projects. With a robust funding model of loans and allocated tax revenue, it can complete the Grand Paris Express in record time.
Our key missions :
- Design the Grand Paris Express transit network
- Ensure the project build : construct the lines, structures, stations, and equipment facilities, procure rolling stock for Ile-de-France Mobilités, coordinate with the existing SNCF Réseau commuter rail and RATP metro networks to link all the systems.
- Support the greater Paris area's transformation by spearheading urban development and real estate projects around the stations.
The Société du Grand Paris Management Board
Société du Grand Paris's Management Board is made up of three collegial members: Chairman Jean-François Monteils (since 17 March 2021), Bernard Cathelain (since 25 March 2015), and Frédéric Brédillot (since 20 April 2017). They were all appointed by decree of the French president.
Members of the Société du Grand Paris Management Board. Left to right: Bernard Cathelain, Jean-François Monteils, Frédéric Brédillot.
© Société du Grand Paris / Patrick Gaillardin
Our organisation
Large-scale transportation and development projects require public dialogue and consultation. One of the key tenets of our CSR programme is to work for and with all of our partners. We involve them at every design and build phase of the new metro. They include the French government, municipalities, the Greater Paris Area, regional transit agencies (Ile-de-France Mobilités, RATP, SNCF), trade federations and, of course, local residents. Elected officials play a prominent role in Société du Grand Paris's governance.
The Supervisory Board
Comprised of 21 representatives from the French government and regional communities, the Supervisory Board ensures oversight for Société du Grand Paris. It approves the agency's policy guidelines and audits its financial statements, as well as development and construction operations.
The Audit and Commitments Committee (ACC) informs the Supervisory Board about Société du Grand Paris's policies on investment, audits, internal controls, and risk management, as well as provides insight on the opinions and comments issued by the Board. It also manages budgeting, finance and accounting.
Elected officials
- Karim Bouamrane
Chair of the Supervisory Board Mayor of Saint-Ouen-sur-Seine, Vice-President of the Seine-Saint-Denis administrative department charged with culture.
- Valérie Pécresse
Chair of the Ile-de-France Regional Council.
- Anne Hidalgo
Mayor of Paris
- Georges Siffredi
Chair of the Hauts–de-Seine Departmental Council
- Stéphane Troussel
Chair of the Seine-Saint-Denis Departmental Council
- Jean-François Parigi
Chair of the Seine-et-Marne Departmental Council
- Pierre Bedier
Chair of Les Yvelines Departmental Council
- François Durovray
Chair of the Essonne Departmental Council
- Olivier Capitanio
Chair of the Val-de-Marne Departmental Council
- Marie-Christine Cavecchi
Chair of the Val-d’Oise Departmental Council
Representatives of the French government
- Thierry Coquil
Vice-chair of the Supervisory Board Managing Director of Infrastructures, Transportation and Mobility at the Ministry of Ecological Transition
- Jean Bensaid
Director of the Infrastructure Project Financing Mission - Treasury Department
- Aurélie Cousi
Department Head, Deputy Managing Director of Heritage charged with Architecture - Department of Heritage
- Agnès Reiner
Delegated Managing Director - National Agency of Regional Cohesion
- Emmanuelle Gay
Regional and Interdepartmental Director of Equipment and Development of Ile-de-France
- Emmanuel de Lanversin
Assistant to the Director of Habitat, Urban Planning and Landscapes
- Stanislas Bourron
Managing Director of Local Municipalities
- Stéphan de Faÿ
Managing Director of the public institution Grand Paris Aménagement
- Claudie Calabrin
Head of the Office of Strategy, Government Contracting and Assessment
- Laurent Pichard
Deputy Budget Director
- Béatrice Bellier-Ganiere
Department Head, Assistant to the Director of Government Property
They also attend Supervisory Board meetings
- Marc Guillaume
Prefect of the Ile-de-France Region, Prefect of Paris Government Commissioner
- Philippe Dupuis
Inspector General of Finance Budget Controller
The three members of the Société du Grand Paris Management Board :
- Jean-François Monteils, Chair
- Bernard Cathelain
- Frédéric Brédillot
- Marie-Christine Baranger, Accountant for Société du Grand Paris
The Strategy Committee
The Strategy Committee is composed of elected officials from communities affected by the Grand Paris Express and socio-economic stakeholders from the Paris region. Its 182 members debate and issue proposals on the new metro and neighbourhoods near its stations.
The Scientific Council of Economists
The Scientific Council of Economists is composed of economists reputed for their research in geographical economics, and the economic and societal impacts of major transport infrastructure projects.
- Dominique Bureau, Chair, Chief Engineer of the Corps of Bridges, Waters and Forests, Delegate. General of the Economic Council on Sustainable Development, and chair of the Public Statistics Authority
- Émile Quinet, Rapporteur General, Chief Engineer of Bridges and Roads, Professor at the Paris School of Economics.
- Kristian Behrens, Professor at Université du Québec in Montreal.
- Françoise Maurel, Inspector General of INSEE.
- Jean-Paul Ourliac, Honorary Chief Engineer of Bridges and Roads.
- Frédéric Robert-Nicoud, Professor at the University of Geneva.
- Andrés Rodríguez-Pose, Professor at the London School of Economics.
- Richard G. Shearmur, Dean of the School of Urban Planning-McGill University in Montreal.
- Jacques-François Thisse, Professor at UCLouvain.
- Kurt Van Dender, Head of the Tax and Environment Unit, OECD.
- Jean-Luc Tavernier, Managing Director of INSEE (French national institute for statistical and economic studies).
- Michel Yahiel, Commissioner General of France Stratégie.
- Agnès Bénassy-Quéré, Delegated Chair of the Economic Analysis Council.
The Evaluation Board of the Grand Paris Express
The Evaluation Board of the Grand Paris Express is tasked with assessing the economic, urban, social, and regional aspects of the project.
The cohort that sits on the Board are experts known for their skills and experience in their respective fields :
- Dominique Bureau, Chief Engineer of the Corps of Bridges, Waters and Forests, Delegate General of the Economic Council on Sustainable Development, and chair of the Public Statistics Authority.
- Emmanuel Bellanger, Research Director at the CNRS Centre of 20th Century Social History.
- Vincent Kaufmann, Professor at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne and Director of the Urban Sociology Laboratory.
- Jacques Lévy, Professor of geography and urban planning at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne and Director of the Chôros Laboratory.
- Jean-Marc Offner, Managing Director of the Urban Planning Agency of Bordeaux Aquitaine Metropolitan Area.
- Jean-Paul Ourliac, Honorary Chief Engineer of Bridges and Roads.
- Émile Quinet, Professor Emeritus at École des Ponts ParisTech.
- Jacques-François Thisse, Professor Emeritus at UCLouvain.
- Taoufik Souami, Professor at the Paris School of Urban Planning East Marne-la-Vallée.
This Board also includes the chairs of Société du Grand Paris's Supervisory Board, Strategy Committee, and Management Board.
Consulting is also provided by Dominique Alba, Managing Director of APUR, Marie-Christine Parent, Regional Director Ile-de-France of INSEE, and Fouad Awa, Managing Director of IAURIF.
The Expert Panel on Cultural Action
The Expert Panel on Cultural Action advises Société du Grand Paris on the cultural programme aimed at building a new architectural and artistic heritage.
Project implementation and description (2013-2015)
- François Barré, former Chair of the Pompidou Centre, Chair of Frac Ile-de-France.
- Fazette Bordage, Founding President of the Mains d’Œuvres Association in Saint-Ouen, Co-founder of the TransEuropeHalles network, Director of Cultural Initiatives for the City of Le Havre.
- Nicolas Bourriaud, Director of Beaux-Arts de Paris.
- Mélanie Bouteloup, Director of the Bétonsalon Centre of Art and Multidisciplinary Research.
- Alexia Fabre, Chief Curator of the Val-de-Marne Museum of Contemporary Art (MAC/VAL).
- Françoise Huguier, photographer and artistic director.
- Josep Ramoneda, journalist and philosopher, former Director of the Barcelona Centre of Contemporary Culture (CCCB).
Programme monitoring (since 2016)
- Paula Aisemberg, Director of Maison Rouge in Paris.
- Jean-François Chougnet, Director of MuCEM in Marseilles.
- Zoë Gray, Commissioner General of Wiels in Brussels.
- Ermanno Tedeschi, gallery owner in Turin.
Observatories
Two observatories were spearheaded by Société du Grand Paris :
- The Land and Real Estate Pricing Observatory, a joint effort of the Ile-de-France region prefecture, and the Paris Chamber of Public Notaries. The Observatory was created in 2013 to track price trends for all types of land and real estate in the vicinity of Grand Paris Express stations, and to provide analysis reports to stakeholders.
- The SME Observatory was formed in 2017 to oversee compliance with the provision to ensure small- and medium-sized business are provided access to contracts and to increase their involvement in the project. It is comprised of chambers of commerce, employers organisations, INSEE (French national institute for statistical and economic studies), and trade federations in the Paris area.
Members of the SME Observatory :
- The Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCI) Paris Ile-de-France
- The Chamber of Trades and Crafts (CRMA) Ile-de-France
- The Federation of Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprises (CPME) Ile-de-France and Paris
- The Regional Federation of Public Works (FRTP)
- The French Building Federation (FFB)
- Medef Ile-de-France
- INSEE (French national institute for statistical and economic studies)
- Direccte Ile-de-France
There is also a Station Neighbourhood Observatory, which was set up by APUR (Paris urban planning workshop) in partnership with Société du Grand Paris and DRIEA (Regional and Interdepartmental Department of Equipment and Development) of Ile-de-France. Created in 2013 as a knowledge and analysis tool for all the neighbourhoods around the future Grand Paris Express stations, it researches each area and cross-references them within a scope encompassing the lines to be built.
The Grand Paris Act
Instituted by the Grand Paris Act of 3 June 2010, Société du Grand Paris is a public establishment of an industrial and commercial nature governed by Decree No. 2010-756 of 7 July 2010. The act defines Grand Paris as an “urban, social and economic project of national interest” that aims to promote “sustainable and inclusive economic growth driving job opportunities in the Greater Paris region” to boost the region’s appeal and maintain its competitive edge on the world stage.
In an effort to unite the Ile-de-France region's key strategic areas and ease social and regional disparities, the legislation decrees that the works must include a new public passenger transport system. Société du Grand Paris has been tasked with making this a reality.
These pages may interest you
In the process of building the Grand Paris Express, Société du Grand Paris has made a number of social, environmental, and financial commitments.
As a major stakeholder for transport in the Ile-de-France region, Société du Grand Paris has adopted a unique financial model.
Would you like to help us build the Grand Paris Express? View job openings at Société du Grand Paris.
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