Wikidata:Requests for comment/Maps vs Reliable Sources

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An editor has requested the community to provide input on "Maps vs Reliable Sources" via the Requests for comment (RFC) process. This is the discussion page regarding the issue.

If you have an opinion regarding this issue, feel free to comment below. Thank you!

A dispute has broken out as to where the headquarters (Property P159) of the the International Bureau of Weights and Measures (BIPM from the French: Bureau International des Poids et Mesures) (Q229478) are located. Many reliable sources state that it is located in the French commune of Sèvres (Q206493). However User:DeFacto, after an examination of a map asserts that it is in the neighbouring commune of Saint-Cloud (Q189153).

If you download this document and read paragraph 1.2 (page 2), you will see the text

"France is the depositary of the Metre Convention and host State, the seat of the [B]ureau being located in Sèvres, within the Parc de Saint-Cloud".

The original text (in French) is shown on Page 9. Similar statements appears in many other reliable sources and all the BIPM's documents show it as being located in Sèvres.

If you download a map of the commune of Saint-Cloud and zoom in, the Bureau International des Poids et Mesures can be seen close to the South-eastern extremity of the park. Access to the BIPM is via Porte du Mail which lies on the border between the communes of Saint-Cloud and Sevres, passing a checkpoint into the Parc de Saint-Cloud (Q2030715) and proceeding 200 metres along the Avenue du Pavillon de Bretuil to the BIPM checkpoint.

Why then do the reliable sources state that the BIPM is located at Sevres but the maps suggest that it is located in Saint-Cloud? Obviously the two need to be reconcilled in some way. This anomaly might be due to some provision in French law that is not widely known. Until such time as the issue is resolved, I assert that using the map is a form of original research and as such, the statements in reliable sources must override such research. DeFacto on the other hand assets that the map is reliable and that it takes precedence over statements made by the French Government.

I seek outside comments. Martinvl (talk) 20:31, 3 July 2021 (UTC)[reply]

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