Paris authorities have begun limiting traffic in a large zone of the city centre, with police alerting drivers that they are now banned from driving through the French capital’s central four districts and risk a fine if they do so after next spring.
The so-called “limited traffic zone” (ZTL), home to about 100,000 people and 11,000 businesses, is part of a broader push by the socialist mayor, Anne Hidalgo, to restrict traffic and encourage cycling and public transport use across the car-clogged city.
The zone covers the first, second, third and fourth arrondissements, a 5.5 sq km area that incorporates much of the historical centre of Paris and a number of its best-known monuments including the Louvre, Tuileries gardens and much of the Marais.
The city centre mayor, Ariel Weil, said it was “an important step that will be implemented gradually, starting with an educational phase”. He added: “It aims both to reduce and fluidify traffic for the good of public services, safety, residents, craftsmen and retailers.”
Access by cars, motorbikes, vans and trucks will be allowed only for emergency services, buses, taxis, people with reduced mobility, drivers who live or work there and “destination traffic” – those entering for a specific reason such as for a medical appointment, visit friends or go to a shop, cinema or restaurant.
City hall figures show that between 350,000 and 500,000 vehicles enter the ZTL every day, with up to 50% estimated to be through-traffic – drivers who are simply transiting the area but whose ultimate destination is outside it.
Officials say they expect the ZTL to lead to a “substantial” fall in traffic volume of as much as 30% on the busiest roads such as the Boulevard de Sébastopol and Avenue de l’Opéra, accompanied by less noise and an improvement in air quality.
During the initial educational phase, which is due to last three months but could be extended to six, drivers will simply be warned about the new rules, in force since Monday. Thereafter, offenders risk a series of as yet undefined penalties.
The scheme’s large number of exceptions means it will be almost impossible to enforce automatically with CCTV cameras, so Paris authorities will instead rely on prominent signage, random checks and a system of online declarations.
Since the project was announced in 2021, its scope has been the subject of often difficult discussions with Paris police. But in a sign agreement had been reached, the police co-signed the city hall decree enacting the zone published last Thursday.
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Hidalgo has spearheaded a long-term plan to turn Paris into one of the world’s most bike-friendly cities, with hundreds of kilometres of new cycle paths opened in recent years, particularly since the Covid pandemic lockdowns.
Many motorists resent the changes, which have radically reduced the space available for cars on many thoroughfares and been accompanied by other steps to cut car use such as increased inner-city parking fees.
