France to replace Mercator map projection with Eckert IV for diplomatic use
The French foreign ministry will phase out the Mercator projection in favor of the Eckert IV projection, aligning with a recent UN resolution that promotes more proportionally accurate world maps.
France’s foreign ministry announced it will stop using the Mercator projection for diplomatic maps, switching to the Eckert IV projection that better reflects the actual size of continents. Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said the change aims to correct distortions inherited from 16th-century cartography, noting that the Mercator view gives disproportionate visual importance to regions such as the United States, Russia and China while understating Africa, Latin America and Southeast Asia.
Barrot added that the new projection will not alter geopolitical realities but will provide a more truthful representation of geographic space. The ministry has been gradually reducing Mercator use since 2021 and plans to prioritize map projections suited to specific purposes across its diplomatic communications.
The move follows a United Nations General Assembly resolution, backed by 164 member states, that encourages the adoption of equal-area projections such as the Equal Earth model. While the UN resolution does not ban Mercator maps, it calls for governments and institutions to consider projections that preserve true surface areas. France opted for the Eckert IV projection, a 1906 design similar in accuracy to the UN-recommended model.
Cartographers note that Mercator remains useful for certain regional, local and navigation applications, and digital platforms continue to employ it. In French schools, Mercator maps still dominate, though some textbooks feature alternative equal-area projections.