This Sunday (September 27th) Paris will become a car-free city. Kind off. The plan was put forward by Parisian mayor Anne Hidalgo who seems pretty forward thinking in environmental matters (relatively speaking anyway) as she was also responsible for the sensible decision to make public transport free when Paris was suffocating in the smog last summer, as well as the pedestrianisation of the Seine embankment.
When the plan was initially announced earlier this year it was unclear how widespread the ban would be and perhaps unsurprisingly it is limited to the most central arrondissements (1st. 2nd. 3rd and 4th) along with some of the most popular tourist attractions (Champs Elysees, between the Place de la Concorde and the metro George V, the area of the Eiffel Tower, and much of the Bois de Boulogne and Bois de Vincennes.). There’s going to be a 20km/h speed limit put in place for everywhere else within the periphique. Full details here. Also it’s not quite a day without cars as the rules will only be enforced between 11h00 and 18h00, but despite all this it’s an interesting experiment that will encourage people to consider whether the city would be a better, safer, cleaner place without cars.
It’s all very clever timing politically as later this year Paris is hosting the United Nations Conference on Climate Change so the city really needs to clean up its act. Take advantage of this and rent a velib without the risk of being trampled by huge lorries or just stroll around all the usual spots in central Paris but with a completely new perspective.
In other environmental news the French government is cracking down on cigarette stubs littering the streets. They plan to hand out 15,000 pocket ashtrays within the next few weeks. Smokers be warned next time you flick your cig on the ground, the fine has also doubled from 35€ to 68€!
