Find out more about this survey published in the October 2012 issue of « Ça m’intéresse » magazine.

While the aggressiveness of Paris metro users is recognized worldwide, the reasons for it are unclear. How much is due to the material, human and cultural environment? An investigation into a rail network with a social microclimate marked by incivility.

Every day, almost five million passengers, or nearly two billion a year, rush into the Paris metro, the seventh busiest in the world, to the point of cramming up to eight people per square meter at rush hour. « The rule is that there are now four passengers per square metre, compared with six in 1984, » explains Rodolphe Macia, driver on line 2, and author of the book Je vous emmène au bout de la ligne (Max Milo, 2010) and the website www.auboutdelaligne.fr. On a daily basis, passengers and professionals working for the RATP (Régie Autonome des Transports Parisiens) observe a worrying range of aggressive behaviors. These include verbal, visual and physical aggression (such as pushing, pinching, hair-pulling, stealing or hitting other passengers). Added to this aggression are traditional incivilities such as putting one’s feet on the seat, coughing without putting one’s hand in front of one’s mouth, throwing garbage on the ground, spitting, smoking… In short,  » a whole range of behaviors aimed at privatizing a public space  » analyzes Julien Damon, sociologist, professor at Sciences Po and co-author of the RATP white paper La civilité ça change la ville. « Unlike metro drivers, who are sheltered in their cabs from this ambient aggression, station and control staff are confronted with it, » testifies Rodolphe Macia. While the aggressiveness of these users is recognized worldwide, its causes are less clear-cut.

The metro: a dirty, smelly environment…

The Paris metro environment itself seems to be at the root of riders’ frustration. « Passengers are critical of both the RATP, which is not always able to offer a quality service, and the passengers themselves, » explains Julien Damon. Some passengers complain about the numerous breakdowns and delays they attribute to a failing RATP. However,« 80% of line incidents are caused by passengers themselves« , says Rodolphe Macia.

In addition to the surrounding dirt, there are the smells of the metro, which Céline Ellena, nose by profession and author of the blog Les Chroniques Olfactives (www.chroniquesolfatives.blogspot.com) describes with precision:  » the metro is a social bubble containing smells of two origins: human (perspiration, breath, perfume…) and mechanical (tire friction, gear oil, the smell of hot plastic…)« . These odors appear stronger when the heat is higher:  » It‘ s between 27 and 34°C during rush hour« , explains Rodolphe Macia. In such cases, the air vents present are sufficient to oxygenate passengers, but not to dispel the strong odors, whose molecules are heavier.  » Strong odors catalyze passengers’ frustration, because they can neither control them nor escape them, » says Céline Ellena. According to Céline Ellena, each metro line has its own unique odors.  » Line 1, widely used by employees of large companies, is characterized by the smell of perfume and cold coffee« . Line 4 is particularly fragrant: « Its crossing of the Seine and ancient damp underground galleries releases odors of rock, rotten eggs and mushrooms. This line also serves multicultural and tourist areas, increasing the number of users and the variety of their smells. « . Line 6, on the other hand, is rather discreet: « Being aerial, this line benefits from natural air currents, not to mention the fact that it’s not very busy. In fact, the people who live in the affluent neighborhoods it serves don’t travel much by metro! « . However, Céline Ellena insists: « Perception of smells is cultural and subjective. What smells bad to a Parisian may smell good to a Japanese or an Indian, and vice versa. So to say that the metro stinks, in itself, means nothing. « .

How objective is the Paris metro environment? To find out, Présence Mystery Shopping organized an exclusive study in 2006 on the quality of the welcome and environment in twelve of the world’s metros, covering 720 stations from Singapore to New York and Rio. The Paris metro ranks tenth, after Beijing (ninth) and two places ahead of New York (twelfth). Its weak point is the station environment:  » In Paris or Berlin, our tourist often waited on a dirty platform (in 40% of visits) where the seats were more rarely clean than in other cities, » says the press release. An interviewer added:  » Before taking a seat, one elderly person looked at the state of the seats, then resigned herself: in the end, she preferred to stand, despite the effort it seemed to cost her. On the other hand, RATP agents achieved the best performance of the study for the « Bonjour » greeting (observed in 85% of visits), although this was not always accompanied by a smile!

… To which can be added the overcrowding between passengers

But according to Julien Damon, the frustration comes above all from other passengers, « who are becoming more and more numerous « .« The MF 2000s, the new models in circulation on line 2, can hold up to 800 people, i.e. more than a hundred per car » points out Rodolphe Macia. Yet train frequency is high, with« 540 trains running simultaneously across the network during the evening rush hour, compared with 560 during the morning rush hour, i.e. almost one train every one minute and thirty seconds« , he adds. Despite this, passengers often invade our « privacy zone » by squeezing into each other’s seats. Situated between 15 and 45 centimetres, this invisible bubble, brought to light by anthropologist Edward T. Hall in 1960, is traditionally reserved for our children, spouses and lovers. That’s why it’s so frustrating and uncomfortable when it’s invaded by strangers. Laurent Bègue, professor of social psychology and author of La psychologie du bien et du mal (Odile Jacob, 2011) and L’agression humaine (Dunod, 2010), also denounces ambient noise as the cause of  » hypertension and stress « .

Frustration leads to aggression

This frustration induced by the environment will give rise to aggression on the part of the user, as described in Dollard and Berkowitz’s frustration-aggression theory (1939). The postulate? In a given context, frustration, resulting from the impossibility of achieving one’s goals, encourages an expression of aggression in the individual, the effect of which is liberating. « The relationship between frustration and aggression is thought to be linear, the intensity of the aggressive response being directly proportional to the intensity of the frustration, » analyses Laurent Bègue in his book L’agression humaine (Dunod, 2010). In 1968, an experiment by Russel G. Geen highlighted this relationship between frustration and aggression. Participants were divided into four groups, with the common aim of solving a puzzle. For the first group, the puzzle is insoluble (frustration linked to the task). For the second group, the puzzle is soluble, but a companion prevents the subjects from solving the task in time (personal frustration). In the third group, subjects solve the puzzle before being insulted (reproaches for their lack of intelligence and motivation). Finally, for the fourth group, called the control group, the puzzle is solved. Then, all participants are invited to administer electric shocks to a third party, with the understanding that the more aggressive the individual, the greater the intensity of the shock administered. The result? Participants in the first three groups administered shocks of a much higher intensity than the control group.

Immersed in the crowd, the traveler becomes uninhibited

But environmental frustration doesn’t explain everything. Being part of a large group, such as a flock of other travelers, also inhibits a sense of responsibility, distancing personal values and lifting users’ prohibitions. In 1952, Festinger coined the term « de-individuation ». Here’s an example: jostling a guest at a party at a friend’s house would confuse an individual, but jostling another passenger in the metro on a strike day won’t keep him awake! Because in a crowd we become unidentifiable, anonymous. Our psychological state is characterized by a weakening of our self-awareness. As Gustave Le Bon put it in Crowd Psychology (1985),  » the impulses a crowd obeys are imperious enough for personal interests to fade into the background « . However, Laurent Bègue puts things into perspective:  » I don’t think aggressiveness is a characteristic of Paris metro passengers. On the contrary! Riders show a certain degree of self-control. The combination of crowding, noise and heat is thought to encourage aggression in many species. Aggressive behavior most often emerges when individuals feel they can’t change the situation. « . According to Laurent Bègue, this aggressiveness is also rooted in the grandeur of Paris:  » In large cities, over-stimulation leads to under-awareness of other people’s needs. As a result, individuals do not apply the rules of human interaction that are in force in environments with low human density (in the mountains, for example). « .

What if the reason was cultural? The case of the Tokyo subway

And what if the reason for this aggressiveness was, above all, cultural? The Tokyo metro carries 8 million passengers a day, twice as many as the Paris metro, yet there’s no sign of incivility. Eriko Thibierge-Nasu, a French-speaking Japanese psychoanalyst, explains:  » The Japanese take great care to ensure that social relations run smoothly and remain highly codified: individuals are courteous and respectful in all circumstances. Aggression between individuals can be devious, but never explicit. « . Nicolas Bosc, a doctor of psychology and psychotherapist practicing in Tokyo, adds:  » The notion of group is so important that no one would think of taking advantage of the situation for personal gain at the expense of the community ». Markus Brauer, CNRS researcher at the Laboratoire de psychologie sociale et cognitive, confirms this: « In ‘collectivist’ cultures, individuals feel that everything to do with the community is an integral part of their own identity. For some, the « self » stops at the door of their apartment. For others, it includes their neighborhood, the park, even the city. « The physical environment of the Tokyo subway is more comfortable and better supervised:  » there’s an agent at every entrance, at every exit, and on every platform « .  » An excellent sushi restaurant has even opened its doors in the corridor of a subway station« , adds Nicolas Bosc.

RATP concerned about rising incivilities

Incivilities among Paris metro users have been a concern for RATP since 1997, and the company regularly launches communication campaigns promoting civility and mutual respect. What’s at stake? The emergence of awareness on an individual level, leading to a change in collective behaviour. According to a SOFRES survey carried out in March 2011, 83% of people living in the Paris region believe that RATP should speak out on the subject of incivilities. In June 2011, the company analyzed and listed the incivilities observed in the white paper La civilité ça change la ville. This led to the launch of a campaign featuring particularly uncivil half-human, half-animal characters, treated in a humorous way:  » If you show up during rush hour, you risk two or three complaints  » or  » If you push five people on the way up, you won’t get off any faster « . In June 2011, a collaborative website called  » Dear Transport Neighbours  » was launched, where users and web surfers can post anecdotes about their experiences on the lines. The aim? To foster social ties between users. For RATP, the problem lies more in the relationships between users than in the transport service itself. A point that Laurent Bègue qualifies:  » Instead, we should be focusing on the quality and efficiency of the service provided. A pleasant place for the user makes an aggressive reaction more unlikely. « . Nevertheless, the company seems to be aware of the shortcomings of its offering, and in 2011 spent almost 1.5 billion euros on modernizing its equipment.

The reasons for this subterranean aggression seem more complex than they appear. And the part played by the material, human and cultural environment remains to be determined. Efforts to improve relations between users are a first step. But this analysis remains partial in the sense that it does not include the failure of the transport offer. And campaigns seem to have little impact.  » These manifestations are increasingly worrying. However, we don’t know whether these incivilities are on the increase, or whether they’re just less tolerated than before. « asks Julien Damon. What if this increase in aggressiveness is a sign that we need to rethink our transport offering? Whatever the case, the climate in the Paris metro, a veritable laboratory of social life, is a sure sign of a shift in societal behavior towards increasingly overt aggression. And this concerns each and every one of us.

(As this survey has been modified by the editorial team, it is not word for word identical to the one published in the October 2012 CM magazine).