Parisian Mayor Wins Battle with French Government to Introduce Traffic Bans

Anne Hidalgo, the incumbent mayor of Paris, had finally won a long-standing battle with the French government to introduce a traffic ban in the event of excessive levels of pollution in the city. The ban can be enforced at the whim of local authorities and will force odd- and even-numbered licensed-plated cars to use alternate days of the week to drive.

A Long Time Coming

The French Ecology Minister, Ségolène Royal, had previously opposed the measure, arguing that it should only come into effect when the French capital had faced three consecutive days of dangerous levels of pollution.

However, an unusually high amount of pollution was reported in Paris last Monday, just a few weeks before the city is due to host the UN Climate Change Summit in December. As a result, Royal conceded her position and allowed the ban to be enforced whenever Mayor Hidalgo deemed it prudent.

Royal took to the popular radio station Europe 1 to express her change of heart, stating that the rule could be introduced “when the region and the city authorities demand it”, primarily because they were in “closer contact with those living in the city”.

Earlier this year, pollution levels in the French capital briefly soared above those in Shanghai, which is widely regarded as one of the most polluted cities in the world. Hidalgo has apparently made it her own personal mission to combat such foul air and the reputation it engenders (threatening Paris’ ‘City of Lights’ moniker).

A Legacy of Environmental Policy

As well as fighting to introduce the alternate-day driving initiative, Hidalgo also plans to ban all traffic outright from the right bank of the River Seine as of January 1^st 2016. Meanwhile, earlier this year, Paris enjoyed a “car-free” day on September 26^th – an event which Hidalgo viewed as a complete success and which she hopes to replicate in the future.

In addition to this, Paris has also been subject to a pilot air monitoring scheme which purports to provide greater accuracy by measuring real-time levels of methane and carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Similar greenhouse gas (GHG) monitoring pilot schemes have been put in place in London and Rotterdam, as well.

Clearly, Hidalgo is doing her utmost to repair the damage wreaked upon Parisian air by an overabundance of vehicles on the city’s roads (for confirmation, just ask any Paris-dweller about finding a parking spot and you’ll quickly be enlightened as to the extent of the problem).

With France projected to be coughing up as much as £75 billion (€101.3 billion) every year in order to combat air pollution in economic, health and financial costs, it’s no wonder the Parisian mayor has been clamouring for action. Finally, it seems, the government agrees – at least on this measure.