Parisians vote to ban cars from 500 more streets

Ten thousand parking spots will be removed in latest car crackdown

Cars by the Arc de Triomphe in Paris (AP)

Parisians have voted in favour of pedestrianising 500 more streets in the French capital, bolstering City Hall’s ongoing campaign to reduce car usage and enhance air quality.

A referendum held on Sunday saw nearly 66 per cent of voters approve the measure to create more car-free zones.

However, turnout was low at just over 4 per cent, according to official results.

This latest vote marks the third such referendum in recent years, following a 2023 decision to ban e-scooters and a 2024 move to significantly increase parking fees for large SUVs.

The initiative will see the removal of 10,000 parking spaces, adding to the 10,000 already eliminated since 2020.

City officials plan to consult with Paris’s two million residents to determine which 500 streets will be transformed into pedestrian areas.

It will expand the network of "green lungs" to nearly 700 – over 10 per cent of the city’s streets.

A woman rides a bike past Paris City Hall (AP)

Data from Paris City Hall reveals that car traffic has decreased by more than half since the turn of the century when the Socialists took office, highlighting a long-term trend towards prioritising pedestrians and alternative forms of transport.

Under Mayor Anne Hidalgo, the streets of Paris have been transformed, with 84km of cycle lanes created since 2020 and a 71 per cent jump in bike usage between the end of the Covid-19 lockdowns and 2023.

The 2024 referendum saw parking fees for cars of 1.6 tonnes and more triple to €18 an hour in a bid to discourage “bulky, polluting” cars.

Despite recent changes, Paris lags other European capitals in terms of green infrastructure, which include private gardens, parks, tree-lined streets, water and wetlands.

These make up only 26 per cent of the city area versus a European capital’s average of 41 per cent, according to the European Environment Agency.