RTM, Marseille no. TA04 - September 2000
The last really traditional street tramway to survive in France was that in Marseille. The city once had an extensive tramway system, however in the 1950s this was eroded away to just one route, the 68. This ran from an underground terminus at Noailles in the city centre east to St. Pierre, and for much of its length shared road space with other traffic. Most other tramways in France today run on reserved track. The Marseille line was also notable in that it retained its old rolling stock - 1968/9-built PCC tramcars - however they were much rebuilt when the system was renovated in 1982-3 and adapted to run coupled in pairs. The last section into the Noailles terminus is in tunnel - here TA04 leads a pair of PCCs out of the tunnel while another pair prepares to descend into the gloom. Sadly, this sight can no longer be seen, as the line closed in 2003 and the PCCs are now withdrawn. This is far from the end of the story though, as the closure will last only until 2006 when the 68 will open again, reconstructed, extended and with new rolling stock.

STAS, St. Etienne no. 920 - September 2000
St. Etienne's tramway provides an important North-South link through the city centre. For many years it too operated using renovated PCC cars dating from the 1950s, but major investment in the system began in 1991 with the arrival of fifteen of these GEC-Alsthom-Vevey single-ended articulated cars. A further batch arrived a few years later, seeing off the last PCCs. Here, 920 heads south towards the Solaure terminus.

Transpole, Lille no. 15 - May 2000
Unlike the other French tramway systems, the former-ELRT system at Lille is a metre-gauge tramway. The 'Mongy' (as it is known, after its creator Alfred Mongy) has seen a huge revival in recent years. Once worked by handsome bogie cars built by Brissonneau, these were successively replaced during the early-1980s by second-hand Düwag cars bought from German tramway systems. The Düwag cars performed their task well, allowing the tramway to continue in operation with relatively little investment, however by the early-1990s the time had come for the system to undergo a major rebuild. The system closed for two months in 1993 and when it reopened the changes were striking. There were new terminus arrangements at Lille, Roubaix and Tourcoing, major works en route to eliminate some troublesome level crossings, complete renewal of all the trackwork, a new depot and the disappearance of the Düwag cars in favour of a new fleet of four-section articulated cars built by Breda in Italy and styled by Pininfarina. Here, one of the Breda cars departs from the new terminus at Tourcoing on its way back to Lille.

TAG, Grenoble no. 2032
Tramways began a revival in France in 1985 with the opening of the first line of the Nantes system. This was followed by the first Grenoble line in 1987. I haven't had the opportunity to visit Grenoble yet, but Arnaud Oudard of the excellent trans-com.net site has supplied be with this shot of one of the city's Alsthom tramcars. The striking silver and blue livery is also applied to TAG's bus fleet.

RATP, Paris no. 109 - October 2002
Paris has two entirely separate tramway lines. The first, tram T1, serves the northern suburbs between St. Denis and Bobigny (soon to be extended to Noisy-le-Sec), and was opened in 1992. The trams were built by Alsthom and are identical to those used in Grenoble. Originally they were painted silver-grey, but subsequently they have been repainted in the green livery used on the cars on route T2. For most of the route the tramway is on reserved track in the middle of the road, but for the last few hundred yards to the St. Denis terminus the cars run through pedestrianised streets. Here no. 109 ambles through an uncharacteristically quiet St. Denis, heading (despite the destination blind) for Bobigny.

RATP, Paris no. 402 - October 2002
RATP tram line T2 is completely different in character from T1, as it was originally a railway line and retains its railway-like character. The route, from La Défense to Issy in the west of the city, was something of a backwater as a railway and the introduction of trams has allowed more stations to be built and a more frequent service. The line opened as a tramway in 1996, and like T1 used Alsthom cars of the Grenoble design. However, the success of the route has prompted RATP to buy a new batch of Alstom Citadis cars for the route. 402 was one of the first to arrive and was photographed at Belvédère when still under test. Note the differences in front end and module design between the Paris Citadis and those for Montpellier and Orléans below. There are plans for other tram lines in Paris, including the reopening of part of the Petite Ceinture rail route around the city boundary.

CTS, Strasbourg - September 2001
 Two new systems opened in 1994 - Rouen and Strasbourg. The impressive Strasbourg system began operation using these futuristic British-built ABB tramcars. They feature short sections under which the bogies are situated, with larger passenger sections slung between them. Most cars are seven-section like this one, however there are a batch of huge nine-section cars featuring an extra passenger section. Here one of the seven-section cars reverses at the Esplanade terminus to head back towards the city centre.

TAM, Montpellier no. 2025 - September 2000
Every now and again, you get the opportunity to take a photo you can really be proud of. Here's one of mine, and it's fitting that I took it in my favourite French city, Montpellier. The subject is one of TAM's Alstom Citadis trams, seen passing through the recently redeveloped Antigone quarter. I knew Montpellier before the tram, visited during the chaotic construction works and again once the system had been opened, and although I haven't quite got used to the idea of trams invading the huge pedestrianised Place de la Comédie the system is hugely impressive. It's been a big success too, and extra sections are being bought to extend the Citadis cars and reduce the overcrowding from which the cars already suffer. 

SEMTAO, Orléans nos. 45 and 46 - September 2000
The new Orléans system also uses Citadis cars, and in their gold livery they are every bit as striking as their counterparts in Montpellier. When I last visited Orléans, a section of the tramway should have begun operation, however it was still far from complete. However, many of the Citadis cars had arrived and these two were parked at the southern terminal at La Source for crew training.