Paris to Begin Serious Car Restrictions on July 1

The carefree days of driving any-old-junker-they-please are over for Parisians, and they'll be even further obsolete when the calendar changes from June to July.

1 minute read

June 3, 2016, 7:00 AM PDT

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


Paris Skyline

VLADJ55 / Shutterstock

"If your car was built before 1997, don’t even think about driving it into Paris after this month," proclaims a post by Feagus O'Sullivan for CityLab. "From July 1, the French capital will ban vehicles older than 19 years from driving in the city on workdays."

O'Sullivan describes the new driving regulations as "some of the toughest restrictions on drivers" in any European city, prescribed to counter worsening air pollution in the famous city. The new policy has persevered a tough political process, with the city's socialist mayor pushing back on the national government, and periodic driving bans.  

The post includes more details of the current driving restrictions, as well as what to expect from the ongoing implementation of future, and even more strict, restrictions.

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