The Champs Elysées, without cars

The Champs-Élysées in Paris, a great showcase of the French capital where 100,000 cars circulate daily, was reserved exclusively for pedestrians and cyclists yesterday, May 8, from 12:00 to 20:00, and the experience will be repeated from now on the first Sunday of each month. The Paris City Council’s Paris Respire initiative will implement the same policy on Sundays and holidays in new areas of the city. The precedent for all this was World Car Free Day, celebrated on September 27, 2015, when traffic was closed in five major tourist areas of the city so that pedestrians could “re-discover the city.” This is all part of the anti-pollution plan of Mayor Anne Hidalgo, who also announced its intention to eradicate the circulation of diesel cars in the downtown area by 2020.

The once-a-month reservation of the Champs-Élysées for pedestrians and cyclists is also a small first step towards the progressive metamorphosis planned for the main avenue of Paris until 2025. The Paris Urbanism Studio (APUR) produced, at the request of the city council, a remodeling plan for the Champs-Elysées. It is proposed as measures to increase its attractiveness, not only for tourists but for Parisians, to rethink traffic flow and take space away from cars to build cycle lanes and widen sidewalks, introduce electric public transport, convert rooftops into garden terraces walkable with bars and restaurants, and open new theaters and cinemas.