Als Teil einer von der Afrikanischen Union angeführten Maßnahme kündigte Paris am Freitag, dem 4. September, an, die sogenannte „Mercator“-Projektion aufzugeben. Um der Realität gerecht zu werden, wird Frankreich auf Weltkarten nun kleiner erscheinen.
Von EymericRosace
32 Kommentare
Source: https://www.lemonde.fr/international/article/2026/09/04/la-france-plaide-pour-une-representation-cartographique-du-monde-plus-equitable_6765749_3210.html?lmd_medium=al&lmd_campaign=envoye-par-appli&lmd_creation=ios&lmd_source=default
I cannot read french, so I would like to know what ‚abandon‘ means here.
Many projections (including mercator) are the best for some purposes. Mercator is just used too often in other contexts where its strength doesnt really matter or is actually misleading.
So, abandon for which purposes or contexts?
Yeah this will fix all the poverty and famine in Africa. So noble and brave by the French government.
Mercator projection is the best map for navigation as it maps Rhumb lines to straight lines. Rhumb lines are especially easy to follow using a compass or the north star as you just maintain a constant angle to true north.
That’s why it’s used, not any racism to proportionally shrink Africa.
Not only France, there is a voting in UN today made by Togo and supported by the African Union proposing the world to abandon Mercator. If the vote fails then probably France is not changing it.
Why the ’so called‘ Mercator projection? – like that what its called by everyone is there some group who doesn’t call it that?
Greenland, Alaska, Canada: omg wtf
The contrast with Greenland is especially striking, of course.
should be using Cahill–Keyes octant projection, the most non-disrupted one, or Mollweide. this just deforms/stretches from the equator until the poles.
„to reflect reality“ > to reflect better the proportions of land masses
Hot take, every country should have a world map that highlights their position in the world.
All worldmaps are useful for different things.
**Mercator projection preserves general direction lines** – this is mathematical beauty and **practical purpose** of this projection that you cannot do with other projections.
Not sure what ‚Paris‘ is in the statement above. I am working with GIS data for 30 years, did not see ‚Eckert IV‘ like ever and I know for sure I will never see it.
Both projectiosn suck
„To reflect reality“. I’m pretty sure Greenland is not that flat and wide
This was a pointless move
The irony is that as a map maker, I always saw Mercator as a good projection for Africa and Equatorial regions simply because of less distorted they appear on map and that’s a good thing for me.
Yet I have been recently insulted by activists at a place where I was exposing my maps in Paris for a „colonial use of white maps“ by using Mercator on my maps (in fact I was not, not even a close projection).
It saddens me to see map Projection used for ideological purposed.
Eckert IV? At least the distortion in shape is less than Gall-Peters.
Personally prefer Mollweide among equal areas because of lower distortion near the central meridian (sinusoidal has an unappealing outer shape)
The Scandinavian Penis has suffered shrinkage
So instead of enlarging the northern and southern regions, you twist them instead. That does not reflect reality, it only distorts reality in a different way.
The only truly accurate way to represent the Earth is with a globe. You can’t represent it on a 2D plane without distortion.
Mercator defenders are fanatic. I’ll never understand their fury when people use a different projection.
I had geniounely missed it lol. Still, plenty of people here are acting like distorting area is somehow worse than distorting shape, why would that be the case? Some countries jn Eckerts are as unrecognizable as Africa is in Mercator
Is it not racist that the 0 Longitude line favor Africa and not Asia (there it live more people)
As a Norwegian I’m all for this.
We take up way too much space on the map compared to our real size – giving our politicians grandiose ideas.
I think the ecket is ugly and Mercator has too much area deformation – as it’s a navigation tool not a geography tool. **Winkel Tripel** is regarded as the best compromise for the world map projection.
Sure the equal area property of Eckert IV will provide accurate info on the actual size of the countries displayed, but winkel tripel is still accurate enough area wise except the polar areas, while still retaining shapes pretty well.
„So-called ‚Mercator‘ projection“
Interesting phrasing there, so-called ‚Reddit‘ user
The absurdity of the conversation around Mercator will never stop being annoying.
For starters. There were no ideological reason for the projection. Mercator did not came with it as a way to show Europe as superior to Africa. He did to keep the latitude lines paralel and the *form* of the landmasses accurate. Two things that are quite useful for navigation.
Secondly. Mercstor isn’t even that popular anymore. Institutions and organizations have moved towards other projections, normally compromise projections (middle points between conserving form and landmass) like Robinson Projection or the Equirectangular Projection.
So Mercator critics are fighting a war that doesn’t exist.
Rectangular projections are lame anyway. Pseudocylindrical always looks much better, and gives you little spaces in the corners to put things like information and map keys.
The mercator projection isn’t any less real than any other 2d projection of the globe, they’re all wrong just in different ways to suit their function, the only way to accurately portray a globe is on a globe
And no one linked to the best scene from the West Wing?!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eLqC3FNNOaI
Robinson clears
Problem #8,939,926 on the list of problems on this planet, but at least it’s off the list I guess.
„To reflect reality“ lol, that second map sure is very realistic
Who is Paris in this headline? The whole of France? The French government? Or perhaps some minor government agency. What practical change is this?
No projection is ‘real’ they all compromise something, the African Union’s push against Mercator is pure performance and has almost nothing to do with their real challenges