Revealed: Plan to pedestrianise Paris centre
Scheme would be part of a 'future mandate' if Anne Hidalgo is re-elected as mayor in 2020
Just weeks after the permanent pedestrianisation of stretches of road on the banks of the River Seine in Paris was ratified by a court, it has emerged that mayor Anne Hidalgo is formulating plans to take cars off the streets of the centre of Paris all together.
Ms Hidalgo wants to pedestrianise the historic centre of the capital in future, an unnamed official has told AFP.
The official said that the project to create 'an extremely restricted traffic zone, with autonomous electric shuttles' would be part of a 'future mandate', and that measures would only be adopted following "in-depth studies, in consultation" with all parties.
Ms Hidalgo has not yet confirmed whether she will run in the mayoral elections in 2020, but the idea is set to be presented to the municipal councils at their next meetings. City Hall said that the police prefecture and district mayors would be involved in any planning from the outset.
Wishes to this end will be presented at the next municipal councils of each of the four boroughs concerned. The police prefecture and the district mayors will be involved, the city of Paris insisted.
The first stage to the plan is an extension to the so-called Paris Breathes scheme. It provides a framework for banning vehicles in the first four arrondissements on the first Sunday of the month. This may be extended to every Sunday in 2019, as reportedly suggested by the mayors of the districts in question - which include popular visitor attractions.
In late October, a court ruled in favour of a decree to pedestrianise of the quais on the Left and Right Banks of the river to protect the heritage of the area. An earlier decree that cited pollution had been rejected.
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