Paris has imposed tough new restrictions on older cars, banning any vehicle registered before January 1, 1997 from Monday to Friday between 8:00 AM and 8:00 PM.
Mayor Anne Hidalgo said the city could extend the policy to all conventional vehicles more than nine years old, as soon as 2020.
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“Air pollution, in large part caused by fine particulate fuel emissions, kills 48,000 people each year in France, about 400,000 in Europe, and around 3.7 million worldwide,” Reuters reports, citing data from the French public health agency. “After an initial tolerance period, motorists who flout the ban face fines of €35, an amount that is set to increase from the end of the year.”
Following the announcement, a group of drivers parked their vehicles near the National Assembly and Champs Elysees Ave. to protest a ban they said would hurt poor people and bring down their cars’ resale value. A drivers’ advocacy group, 40 million d’Automobilistes, said more than 500,000 owners will be affected, and announced legal action to seek compensation for the lost value of the vehicles.
