UN resolution prompts France to replace Mercator with Eckert IV map
The French foreign ministry announced on 6 September that it will phase out the Mercator projection in diplomatic use, adopting the Eckert IV equal-area map in line with a United Nations General Assembly resolution. The resolution, adopted on 4 September, endorsed the Equal Earth projection as a more accurate representation of Africa’s size, passing 164-1 with the United States casting the sole opposing vote. The move follows calls from member states to replace the traditional Mercator map, which distorts continental proportions.