Rennes motorists face new pollution controls

The city of Rennes will adopt a traffic regulation system similar to ones used in Paris, Lille, Lyon, Toulouse, and Grenoble to combat air pollution.

The decision comes even though the Brittany capital has not declared any air pollution alerts so far this winter.

The details have yet to be unveiled, but it is believed the city will require motorists to buy Crit'Air stickers, which will then allow vehicles to be banned from entering areas of the city based on the colour and number displayed on the sticker on their windscreen during periods of high pollution.

This traffic control scheme will not come in to force until the winter of 2018/2019 - but it is expected that it will cover the whole of the Ille-et-Vilaine department.

Drôme, in the southeast, has recently announced it will adopt the principle.

Motorists in Ile-de-France, meanwhile, have been warned that reduced speed limits have been imposed on Monday due to a spike in air pollution. Residents have also been advised to carpool where possible, and limit the use of equipment that contributes to pollution, including wood-burning stoves.