The heart of the French capital is now closed to traffic. The measure is just the latest in a long line of traffic control and pedestrianization measures in the French capital aimed at reducing congestion and pollution in the heart of the city.
In fact, the first plan on the Zone à Trafic Limité – “Restricted Traffic Zone,” or ZTL – dates back to May 2021, which bans private cars from entering the city's four most central arrondissements if their final destination is outside the zone, which covers five square kilometers. Between 175,000 and 250,000 trips are made through this area every day; authorities hope to cut this figure in half.
The ZTL will not necessarily turn downtown Paris into a car-free fortress: the approximately 100,000 residents living in these arrondissements will not face any new restrictions, nor will people with disabilities. Buses, cabs and emergency services are exempt, as are health workers, delivery vehicles and some essential workers who will be able to apply for a permit.
Enforcement of the zone will also take place gradually. The first six months will be what the Paris police call a “pedagogical period,” in which violating vehicles can be stopped and warned of the rules they are breaking. After six months, however, offending motorists will be liable to a 135-euro fine.
The ZTL is based on a whole series of measures introduced by Mayor Anne Hidalgo to reduce car traffic and expel the most polluting vehicles from the French capital. Back in 2017, the city introduced controls on older vehicles, requiring everyone to have a permit to circulate in the city and banning older and dirtier ones. In the same year, Paris knocked out one of its main car routes by pedestrianizing the Seine embankments, which had been used for cars since the late 1960s.
Most of the city's most dramatic progress in taming traffic has taken the form of infrastructure changes, as road space for cars in the heart of the city has been steadily eliminated. Several major squares and intersections have been transformed, replacing vehicle lanes with more sidewalks and greenery. In 2022, the Rue de Rivoli-the main east-west axis of central Paris-saw the removal of most cars to create a central highway for bicycles and a pedestrian promenade.
Opening image: Ilnur Kalimullin