Paris slaps ban on cars for the day

Central Paris goes car-free on Sunday as part of its fight against air pollution, at a time when the Volkswagen emissions scandal again turns the spotlight on diesel and the air pollutants it produces.

From 11:00 to 18:00, cars were banned in many Parisian neighbourhoods.

Paris became the latest city worldwide to hold a car-free day as it prepares to host United Nations-led climate negotiations this December seeking to seal a post-2020 pact on curbing greenhouse gases.

Hidalgo said she wanted to prove the city could still function even without auto traffic.

Paris’s first car-free day primarily affects the city centre, and traffic can still circulate in numerous outer neighbourhoods. Buses, ambulances, police vehicles, fire trucks, taxis and some delivery vehicles are still allowed. City officials have launched campaigns to bolster non-car traffic, especially promoting bicycle transport.

Private cars with petrol or diesel engines have been banned from many parts of central Paris on Sunday in an attempt to convince residents they could reduce pollution and congestion by living without them. Vehicles, including motorised bicycles, are forbidden in a quarter of the French capital and “strongly not recommended” throughout.

In the same week Paris and much of Northern France had been swathed in thick smog that covered landmarks such as the Eiffel Tower and the Arc de Triomphe, while emergency measures such as stopping rubbish burning and lowering speed limits were put in place to tackle the unsafe levels of pollution.