A new “IGN Maps” application to compete with Google Maps

A new smartphone application will be released on Wednesday May 15. “IGN Maps”, that’s its name, is launched by the Ministry of Ecological Transition with the aim of competing with Google Maps, according to information from France Inter. It is already downloadable for Android and iPhone.

If the National Institute of Geographic and Forestry Information (IGN) is well aware that it will be complicated to compete with the Internet giants, it intends to propose another map philosophy. “IGN Maps”, a classic mapping application, reveals, for example, land registry information, such as the date of construction of a building, the population of a municipality, the nature of a beach or the type of cultivation of a field . Historical images are also available to compare a site at different times.

To better measure attacks on nature, the application has highlighted around a hundred places, “sensitive points, evolution of the coastline, melting of glaciers, reforestation”, explains Laurent Toustou, head of department at IGN who developed the application. This allows “to better perceive the impact that man or climate change can have on the territory”explains Laurent Toustou.

“IGN Maps” currently offers walking routes. But there is no navigation tool for cycling or driving. The director of IGN Sébastien Soriano assumes responsibility for leading the battle against the web giants. “It’s not about doing the same thing as themwarns Sébastien Soriano. If it’s to pump personal data and present where the fast food restaurants are, they’re already doing it. We are a public service. We can’t let big players capture our way of representing our own territory.” The application must enrich its data, particularly with user contributions.