Paris went car-free for a day - and this is what happened

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Skateboarders Take Over as Paris Goes Car-Free
Skateboarders Take Over as Paris Goes Car-Free



The city of Paris staged its first ever car-free day yesterday (Sunday), with many parts of the notoriously polluted French capital taken over by pedestrians, cyclists, skateboarders, joggers and families with pushchairs.

The eight-lane Champs-Elysees, usually choked with traffic, was replaced by smiling people strolling in the late September sunshine.

See also: Guess where the most polluted place in Britain is?

For seven hours in the world's favourite tourist destination, only taxis and emergency vehicles were allowed on the roads in four central arrondissements (districts).

Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo said she would have liked cars to be silenced across the whole city, reports AFP.

"We didn't get as wide a perimeter as we'd have liked: we asked for the whole of Paris," she said at the start of the Paris Without Cars event.

"But it's a first and I think next year it will be even bigger."

Car-Free Day Throughout Paris,  An Event Conceived By Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo And French Collective 'Paris Sans voiture'
Car-Free Day Throughout Paris, An Event Conceived By Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo And French Collective 'Paris Sans voiture'



Ms Hidalgo was accompanied by the mayors of Brussels, Sao Paulo in Brazil and Bristol in south-west England, which have all held car-free days in the past.

Elsewhere in Paris, cars were asked to stick to a pedestrian speed limit of 20 kilometres per hour — although many drivers ignored the request.

See also: Where not to go on holiday

Paris has struggled with an increasingly toxic air pollution problem caused by vehicles, heating and heavy industry, which generate tiny floating particles that can penetrate deep into the lungs and the blood system, causing health problems.


Car-Free Day Throughout Paris,  An Event Conceived By Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo And French Collective 'Paris Sans voiture'
Car-Free Day Throughout Paris, An Event Conceived By Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo And French Collective 'Paris Sans voiture'



Twice in the past two years authorities have forced half the cars off the road in the French capital and its surroundings in an effort to curb smog.

The restrictions allowed drivers to take to the road only every other day and were enforced by hundreds of police officers writing citations carrying a fine of 22 euros ($35) to those who defied the rules.

In March this year, a rise in air pollution briefly made Paris the most polluted city in the world, with smog so bad it almost completely obscured the city's landmarks, including the Eiffel Tower, reports the Guardian.


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Paris Streets Go Car-Free for the Day
Paris Streets Go Car-Free for the Day

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