"Line 4 makes an irrational loop east"

Transport As Londoners grimace in horror at the impending nightmare which will be getting around London during the Olympics, they might be pleased to know that words like "infrastructure" were being thrown about a century ago while Paris prepared for the 1900 games, especially in regards to the Metro. France Today focuses on this gigantic undertaking becoming entertainingly cross about some of the results:

"Of all the senseless incidents that accompanied the Métro project, the most astonishing one erupted in 1908, from the most unexpected quarters. The bone of contention was the route chosen for Line 4, meant to link the Montparnasse railway station and the central food markets of Les Halles. The venerable members of the Académie Française—les Immortels— objected to the Métro running beneath their splendid domed headquarters, the Institut de France on the Quai Conti. That’s why Line 4 makes an irrational loop east from Saint Germain des Prés to Saint Michel, avoiding the Institut, before crossing under the river, the Ile de la Cité and the river again en route to Châtelet."

Which reminds me of when I visited Paris and got lost of the metro because after travelling about for half an hour I realised I'd been following the wrong shade of pink on the maps.