The 42nd event of this festival in the centre of France will host the best French and international artists. This year’s leitmotif is “Femmes!” and the billing features equal numbers of male and female acts this year including several major women performers such as Charlotte Gainsbourg, Juliette Armanet, Catherine Ringer and Hollysiz. New talents and current successes will perform over six days in various parts of the city, which will be arranged accordingly for the occasion.

Cutting A Path Through Time
Affectionately referred to as the "Ding Ding" by locals, Hong Kong’s symbolic double-decker trams certainly move with the times. Despite having been chugging the city’s winding streets for over 114 years, these timeless and iconic streetcars continually strive to enrich the mobility experience of their 200,000 daily users, reflected by the recent launch of two inspiring programmes. 

RATP Dev Middle East, the regional business unit of RATP Dev – France’s leading international urban mobility company – has become a signatory to the Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs), as part of an initiative led by UNGC with the support of the Embassy of France and the French business community in the UAE.

The Tram Service: a Victim of Its Own Success 
Nearly 162 million passengers have taken the tram in Casablanca—a figure that reflects the success of the service, five years after it was launched. Casablanca’s residents have become so used to it that many have stopped paying attention, resulting in more frequent accidents. The situation is unacceptable in the eyes of RATP Dev Casablanca and Casa Transports, for whom the safety of passengers and road users is an absolute priority. 

First, there was the EFQM diploma of excellence awarded in September 2017. Then, the latest certification confirmed the application of, and continuous improvement in, quality management at OrlyVal. The auditors deemed the service’s organisation clear, original and particularly relevant. 

On 7 December 2017, Qatar Rail, the Qatari national public transport operator, awarded RKH Qitarat — the joint venture based on a consortium between RATP Dev and Keolis (49%) and the Qatari company Hamad Group (51%) — the operations and maintenance contract for the new automated metro of Doha, the capital of Qatar with more than two million residents, and a light rail network in Lusail. Lusail is located 15km from Doha’s city centre and is currently being built and, once completed, is expected to house 240,000 residents. 

Organized for the first time ever in Europe, and hosted by the Smart City Expo World Congress in Barcelona from 12 to 16 November, this year’s edition shed light on the role of transportation in smart cities. It gave RATP Dev the opportunity to showcase its expertise and RATP Group’s energy-saving initiatives in metro systems: installing LED lighting in the Paris network; using trains to help reduce CO2 emissions; and promoting the benefits of innovation in the field of environmental technology.  

In 2014, alongside Ile-de-France Mobilités, RATP committed to a major technological and ecological evolution with the aim of having a 100% ecological bus fleet by 2025: this is the Bus2025 plan. This is in line with the 20% reduction targets for greenhouse gas emissions included in the Ile-de-France Urban Travel Plan.

With Bus2025, RATP will profoundly transform its industrial tool (bus centers) and completely renew its fleet. A transition that has already begun with the first acquisitions of electric buses and massive acquisitions of hybrids.