Paris [France], March 24: Paris residents on Sunday began voting in a referendum on the creation of a car-free zone across huge swathes of the French capital.
If a majority back the plan, 500 streets throughout the city will be greened and turned into pedestrian zones. This would mean the loss of 10,000 parking spaces and drivers would have to be prepared for detours. Polling stations opened at 9am for 10 hours to allow the city's almost 1.4 million registered voters to participate in the referendum.
For the first time, 16- and 17-year-olds are also able to participate, with results expected in the late evening. It is not yet clear exactly which streets would be affected by the decongestion initiative. There are likely to be around 25 streets per arrondissement, or city district, according to the plan.
In total, there are more than 6,000 streets in Paris, of which around 220 are already car-free. In some cases, cars are already not allowed to drive in some areas, such as near schools. This will be the third vote for Parisians on transport issues in recent years, following referendums that banned e-scooters for hire in April 2023 and imposed higher parking fees for heavy cars in February 2024.
Source: Qatar Tribune
