Xmas joker wraps up Metro carriage

PRANKSTERS decked a Metro carriage out in pink floral wrapping paper this morning – but the Paris rail authorities did not show any Christmas spirit and tore it all up.

Twitter user Manon Guignard spotted the train on Ligne 8 and tweeted « Hee hee, it’s Christmas on Ligne 8 » with a photo of the decorated train.

About a third of the inside of the carriage had been decorated from floor to ceiling with the eye-popping wrapping paper.

But bosses from RATP did not see the funny side and quickly took the train out of service to get it cleaned up.

Staff from production company Sisa in Paris later owned up and said that they had done it to “give the commuters a smile in the morning” – and posted photos on their Facebook page to show them at work.

However, Metro bosses later had bigger problems on the network: today four lines were totally shut down and all passengers evacuated in an asbestos scare around midday.

The problem occurred about 12.30 and there was no service running on Ligne 2 (Porte Dauphine/Nation), Ligne 6 (Charles de Gaulle/Nation), Ligne 10 (Boulogne/Austerlitz) and Ligne 11 (Châtelet/Mairie des Lilas).

RATP has set up an information line on 0800 810 820 and said that no trains would be running until late this afternoon. Replacement buses have been organised.

Photo: @ManonGuignard