France empties streets for pedestrians on car-free day

CAIRO – 17 September 2018: Vehicles were partially prohibited in Paris as part of the fourth edition of “A Day without cars” campaign organized by Paris municipality on Sunday, September 16.

The streets were fully cleared from running vehicles from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. GMT, except for emergency vehicles, customized cars of the disabled, tour buses, and taxis.

The activity’s main objective is to “make public spaces less polluted and more comfortable and quiet,” according to Paris municipality’s official website.

A Day Without Cars, means a day WITH cleaner air, less noise, more cyclists, pedestrians, fun and smiles; the street is ours,” tweeted Anne Hidalgo, the mayor of the capital city, on her official Twitter account.

Journée sans voiture, mais journée AVEC de la place, de l’air plus pur, moins de bruit, des cyclistes, des piétons, du plaisir et des sourires ! La rue est à nous ! 🚴‍♀️🚴‍♂️🚶‍♂️🚶‍♀️🏃‍♂️🏃‍♀️🛴😍🌍 #Paris #JournéeSansVoiture #StopPollution pic.twitter.com/KUV0qZ80qL

— Anne Hidalgo (@Anne_Hidalgo) September 16, 2018

Moreover, “the center of the capital will be dedicated to pedestrians, soft traffic and public transport one Sunday per month,” the municipality stated through its official website, adding that the decision will be applied on the first, second, third and fourth districts.

In addition, there is a noticeable reduction in car movements throughout Paris reaching 6 percent from 2017 to 2018, and air pollution rates were also decreased by a “similar percentage”, according to the Presidency of the Capital’s Municipality.


People walk on the car-free Champs-Elysees avenue in Paris, France, May 8, 2016. — Reuters pic