Controversy in Paris: A war on cars?
Summary
TLDRThe script discusses Paris's transformation into a more sustainable city under Mayor Anne Hidalgo, focusing on reducing car usage to combat air pollution and create a more livable space. Despite resistance from some quarters, the city is implementing radical changes, such as pedestrianizing streets and promoting cycling. With the upcoming Olympic Games, Paris is under scrutiny as it aims to showcase an eco-friendly city. However, challenges remain, including integrating suburban areas and addressing the needs of those who live outside the city center but work within it. The script highlights the city's efforts and the debates surrounding its mobility and ecological initiatives.
Takeaways
- 🚗 The city of Paris is implementing measures to reduce car usage and prioritize pedestrians, cyclists, and nature as part of its transformation towards a more sustainable and livable city.
- 🌿 Mayor Anne Hidalgo is leading the charge to make Paris more eco-friendly, with plans to ban cars from certain areas, reduce air pollution, and give more space to nature and people.
- 🔍 There is a significant polarization among Parisians regarding the car ban, with some supporting the environmental and health benefits, while others see it as an outrageous and ineffective measure.
- 🛣️ Major streets like Rue de Rivoli have been transformed into bicycle routes with limited space for cars, and speed limits across Paris have been reduced to 30 km/h to promote safety.
- 🏙️ The '15-minute city' concept is being developed, aiming to create mini centers within Paris where residents can access essential services within a 15-minute walk or bike ride.
- 🌐 Deputy Mayor Christophe Najdovski highlights the ecological transformation of Paris, including pedestrianization of streets and the addition of vegetation to urban spaces.
- 💼 The changes in Paris are affecting various groups, including motorists who face increased parking fees and reduced parking spaces, as well as commuters who rely on personal vehicles due to inadequate public transport.
- 🚲 Bicycle activists and urban planners are working to improve conditions for cyclists, with dedicated lanes and spaces becoming more prevalent in the city.
- 🏗️ Infrastructure projects like the 'Grand Express' are planned to improve connectivity between Paris and its suburbs, but they are facing delays and are not expected to be completed by the 2024 Olympic Games.
- 🎟️ In preparation for the Olympics, Paris is facing challenges with its public transport system, including increased ticket prices and ongoing construction that may affect the experience for both residents and visitors.
- 🌍 The transformation of Paris is being watched globally, with the city's efforts to become a sustainable model potentially influencing other major cities around the world.
Q & A
What is the main goal of the changes being implemented in Paris regarding mobility?
-The main goal is to make Paris more livable by reducing air pollution, giving more space to nature and people, and less space to cars.
Who is leading the effort to transform Paris into a more livable city?
-The effort is being led by Anne Hidalgo, the energetic mayor of Paris, who has been tasked with making the city more livable.
What specific measures have been taken to change mobility in Paris?
-Specific measures include transforming the highway on the banks of the Seine into a recreational area, turning Rue de Rivoli into a bicycle route with limited car lanes, and imposing a 30 km/h speed limit throughout Paris.
What are some of the criticisms against the car-reduction policies in Paris?
-Critics argue that removing all cars from Paris is not practical and that the policies polarize residents. Some believe these changes are unrealistic and inconvenience those who rely on personal vehicles, especially people living outside of Paris.
How have the changes affected people commuting from the suburbs to Paris?
-Many commuters from the suburbs feel inconvenienced as they rely on personal vehicles due to insufficient public transportation. Increased parking fees and reduced parking spaces have made it harder for them to travel into the city.
What is the '15-minute city' concept being implemented in Paris?
-The '15-minute city' concept aims to create mini centers where residents can access everything they need (living, working, shopping, education, medical care, and recreation) within 15 minutes by bike or on foot, reducing the need for car travel.
What challenges are associated with the '15-minute city' concept?
-Challenges include the high cost of living in these areas, the need for significant investment in infrastructure and services, and balancing the needs of people living inside and outside these mini centers.
How has the transformation of Paris been influenced by the upcoming Olympic Games?
-The Olympic Games have accelerated the city's transformation, pushing for quicker implementation of ecological mobility concepts and public transport expansions that might have otherwise taken longer.
What is the Grand Express project, and why is it significant?
-The Grand Express project aims to connect the center of Paris with its suburbs through a large-scale expansion of the public transport network. It is significant because it addresses the mobility needs of the broader metropolitan area but faces delays and will not be completed until 2030.
What are the broader implications of Paris' mobility changes for other cities?
-Paris' mobility changes offer a potential role model for other major cities, highlighting the importance of ecological transformation and sustainable urban planning. However, the challenges and controversies also provide lessons on the complexities of implementing such changes.
Outlines
🚗 Paris's Car Ban Controversy
The script discusses Paris's efforts to become a more livable city under Mayor Anne Hidalgo, focusing on reducing car usage to combat air pollution and create more space for nature and pedestrians. The initiative is polarizing, with some Parisians supporting the ecological transformation and others resisting change, arguing that a complete car ban is impractical. Deputy Mayor Christophe Najdovski highlights the city's transformation into a pedestrian-friendly space with increased vegetation. The city's changes include converting highways into recreational areas and reducing car lanes in favor of bicycles and pedestrians. However, these measures have faced opposition from motorists and those who rely on cars due to inadequate public transportation.
🌆 The Challenge of Suburban Commuting
This paragraph delves into the commuting challenges faced by those who live outside of Paris but work within the city. With 80 percent of Parisian workers residing outside the city and increasing rents pushing people to the suburbs, the need for personal vehicles becomes more pronounced. The script contrasts the experiences of those living in the city center, who rely on public transport and do not need cars, with those commuting from the suburbs. It also discusses the city's efforts to promote sustainable mobility, such as increasing bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure, and the challenges faced by cab drivers due to increased bicycle traffic.
🚶♂️ The Struggle for Sustainable Mobility
The script examines the complexities of implementing sustainable mobility solutions in Paris. It highlights the city's efforts to reduce car usage, including high parking fees for large vehicles like SUVs, and the creation of pedestrian and cyclist-friendly zones. However, these changes have led to new conflicts between different user groups, such as pedestrians, cyclists, and motor vehicle drivers. The governance issues between Paris and its surrounding region are also discussed, with the lack of integrated transport projects exacerbating commuting difficulties for suburban residents.
🏙️ The '15-Minute City' Concept
Urban planner Carlos Moreno introduces the '15-minute city' concept, which aims to create mini centers within Paris where residents can access all essential services within a 15-minute journey by bike or on foot. The concept includes living, working, shopping, education, medical care, and recreation as core functions. The script discusses the challenges of implementing this vision, including the high cost of living in Paris and the disparity between the experiences of those living in the city center versus the suburbs. It also touches on the redesign of the Avenue de Champs Elysee to be more accessible to people rather than vehicles.
🏟️ Preparing for the Olympic Games
The script addresses the upcoming Olympic Games in Paris and the city's efforts to ensure they are environmentally friendly. It discusses the planned expansion of public transport, including the 'Grand Express' project, which aims to connect Paris with its suburbs. However, delays in these projects are causing concern, and there is a sense that political ambitions may not align with technical realities. The high cost of metro tickets during the Olympics and the potential for overcrowding are also mentioned, reflecting the ongoing challenges and debates surrounding mobility and sustainability in Paris.
🚲 The Future of Urban Mobility
The final paragraph reflects on the broader implications of Paris's mobility initiatives and the need for a more progressive approach to change. It acknowledges the city's efforts to promote long-term ecological objectives and the importance of involving all stakeholders in the conversation about pollution and mobility. The script calls for a better way to educate people on coexisting with different modes of transport and suggests that while Paris may not currently be a perfect model for urban mobility, it is sparking important discussions and could eventually lead to the right solutions.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Anne Hidalgo
💡15-minute city
💡mobility
💡sustainability
💡ecological transformation
💡Place de la Bastille
💡Olympic Games
💡public transport
💡SUVs
💡resistance
Highlights
Paris is undergoing a significant transformation to become more livable by reducing car usage and increasing space for nature and people.
Mayor Anne Hidalgo is leading the effort to reduce air pollution by reallocating space from cars to pedestrians and cyclists.
The transformation of the highway on the banks of the Seine into a recreational area for pedestrians and cyclists is a key measure.
Rue de Rivoli, a major traffic route, has been converted into a bicycle route with limited space for cars.
A 30 km/h speed limit has been implemented throughout Paris to enhance safety and reduce pollution.
Lawyer Eric de Caumont argues that the removal of cars from Paris should be prevented in other major European cities.
Motorcyclists, like Didier Renoux, face increased parking fees, highlighting the challenges for those commuting from the suburbs.
Only 9% of all journeys in Paris are made by car, with 61% being shorter than 1 kilometer, emphasizing the potential for promoting cycling and walking.
Cyclists enjoy more freedom on the streets, but this has created tensions with pedestrians and motorists.
Anne Hidalgo's policy includes charging large cars, such as SUVs, higher parking fees to discourage their use.
The concept of the '15-minute city,' where residents can reach essential services within 15 minutes by bike or on foot, is being implemented.
The transformation of the Champs Elysees aims to reduce car usage and make the area more accessible to pedestrians.
The upcoming Summer Olympics in 2024 are driving many of the sustainable changes in Paris.
Paris faces challenges in expanding its public transport network in time for the Olympics, highlighting a gap between political ambition and technical reality.
The debate over mobility in Paris reflects broader questions about urban planning, sustainability, and the balance between local and regional governance.
Transcripts
Paris - a city made with love for people. Long before cars changed
the cityscape and threatened the character of the French capital.
Hupen Autos!!
Now Parisians are taking their city back. The world is watching Paris during the Olympic Games,
and its people have tasked the energetic mayor - Anne Hidalgo - with making the city more livable.
If we take space away from cars, we also reduce air pollution.
Giving more space to nature, more space to people and less space to cars.
But the attempt to ban cars from the city polarizes Parisians.
Removing all cars from Paris is not the solution, it won't work.
This is outrageous and what’s happening in Paris is a joke.
Of course you can have some resistance sometimes,
with people who have their habits and they want to keep their habits.
In the name of ecology, in the name of health,
in the name of saving the planet, what we decide is what’s going to happen.
Radical change is coming fast to Paris, usually adopted by referendums.
Exceptional measures for exceptional situations.
The planet is burning and we in Paris have decided not to stand idly by.
They take those radical solutions. And then: we´ll see what happens?
And the Summer Olympics are just around the corner. A global stage and the big
test for sustainable Paris. Could it be a role model for other big cities?
This is much more perpetuation. It is also a sign of this tension between:
are we are a sustainable city or are we a touristic city.”
Deputy Mayor Christophe Najdovski, who's playing a leading role in the city’s
ecological transformation, stretches his legs in the streets near city hall between two meetings.
So here we are in Rue du Temple, which was formerly an ordinary street with cars parked
and cars driving through the streets. And now it’s a pedestrian street with some vegetation that we
put on it. So it’s a part of the transformations that we are trying to are to implement in Paris,
giving more space to nature, more space to people and less space to cars.
Paris is changing mobility with spectacular measures. The highway on the banks of the Seine
has been transformed into a recreational area for pedestrians and cyclists.
Rue de Rivoli, once one of the most important traffic routes,
has been turned into a bicycle route with only one lane left for cars.
At many traffic hubs such as the Place de la Bastille,
cars have been sidelined and space made for people.
And a 30 km/h speed limit applies throughout Paris. Exemplary measures,
but they don't please everyone.
Lawyer Eric de Caumont is now focused on supporting the interests of motorists.
What’s happening in Paris should be prevented in all other big European cities: A group of fanatics
is trying to remove all cars, all motorcycles, all motorized vehicles from the city, to ban
them in favor of “soft mobility” and turn the city into a museum where life is no longer permitted.
Niklas Zaboji, the France correspondent for a major German newspaper, wants to find out
whether mobility in Paris can be a role model for other major cities in Europe.
Yes and no, rather not or not yet. Yes I mean, the vision is clear and the vision is,
I would say, shared by the majority. But the problem is of course,
when it comes to the details when it comes to the real technical questions.
Didier Renoux rides his motorcycle from a Parisian suburb to work in the city center.
Not only have parking spaces for cars been drastically reduced and parking
fees increased. For the past year and a half, motorcycles with combustion
engines have also had to pay 3 euros an hour to park. This infuriates Renoux.
When you live 20 or 30 kilometers out of Paris, you have to use a personal vehicle
because you don't have public transportation useful to go to work. People living in Paris
don't need any vehicle because in Paris the public transport are OK.
The problem is that 80 percent of people working in Paris,
more than 80 percent of people working in Paris are living outside of Paris.
And more and more Parisians are moving from the center to the suburbs.
The rents in Paris, which have gone up last years - that has also increased the discussion about
this whole transportation issue. Because you have less and less people who can afford to live in the
city center, who don't earn that much money. So you have have more and more people living
outside but still work in the city center, so they need to go inside the city center.
Let's take a look around Place de la Bastille, a popular residential area in the center.
I'm Parisian and I don't have a car.
In Paris, everyone who’s lucky enough to live here uses public transport. Nobody needs a car here.
We were born in Paris, we've always lived here. And we think
there are too many cars. We do everything on foot, we don't need a car. The cars
all come from outside. Only one in four Parisians has a car. We don't like cars.
There is now plenty of space for pedestrians and cyclists at Place de la Bastille,
while cars have seen their territory reduced. The sustainable changes to the cityscape
are being developed scientifically. APUR, the Parisian agency for urban
development where experts plan the future, plays an important role in the process.
Our task here is to analyze everything related to mobility: to observe it from all angles and
come up with plans for action. Today, for example, only 9 percent of all journeys in
Paris are made by car. And 61 percent of all journeys made are shorter than 1 kilometer.
This makes it obvious that mobility by bicycle and on foot should be promoted more strongly.
From science to everyday reality. Sara Bouadhm drives a cab in Paris for 10 hours a day.
Traffic in Paris is a big problem. It's getting worse and worse. There are too many cars,
too many trucks, which is understandable because there is work to be done all over
the city. Paris is a city where it’ll never be possible to eliminate cars. There are too many
stores, too many workplaces. Banning all vehicles from the city is not a solution.
And on her rides, more and more bikes get in her way.
Sometimes I'm boxed in by 2 bikes, one on the left, one on the right... I'm afraid to hit
them. If I want to avoid the one on the left, I get too close to the one on the right... and
they come at warp speed and don't obey the traffic rules. And sometimes they drive in
our bus and cab lane and a lot of accidents happen there. I've seen terrible accidents.
Nevertheless - cyclists are enjoying their new-found
freedom on the streets of the French metropolis.
Half of the road is now reserved for cyclists and no longer for cars.
No one knows the cycle paths in Paris better than bicycle activist Altis.
He keeps a close eye on changes that affect cyclists and documents them on social media.
Here we are in Rue de Rivoli. You can see now:
all of this place is for riding by bike. They started by adding this little lane
an after they expanded to this place. ‘So now it is a very nice place to ride.
The Place de la Republique is also a paradise for cyclists and pedestrians.
On the former traffic circle, there is now only one lane at the edge left for cars.
Alexandra Legendre works for a French automobile club,
but in the center of Paris even she always walks.
When you are pedestrian here, you have to deal with bikes, trotinettes , Deliveroos,
Uber Bikes and you have to be very, very careful when you’re a pedestrian here. When
you have a bicycle, you have the feeling that you are going to save the planet because you
don’t have CO2 emissions. You don’t have particles and the problem is that you do
whatever you want. Here I am a pedestrian and I had never been so much in danger as a pedestrian.
Arnaud Passalacqua arrives here by bike,
of course. As a professor of urban development at Gustav Eiffel University,
he's working on solutions for sustainable mobility in Paris. But he's not yet satisfied.
It is striking that the context of new mobilities which could be a way to be
more peaceful, it is not exactly what is produced by this new frame. In fact,
the new frame produces new violence… or a situation of disease between people walking
and people biking and you’ve got also the violence against the bad car drivers or Moto drivers.
And motorists' tempers are also running high when Rue La Fayette,
one of the most important thoroughfares, simply
grinds to a halt at rush hour. Because bicycles have absolute priority here.
We were elected for that because the mayor when she was elected,
she said that she will pedestrianized streets, that she will give more space to
bicycles and less space for cars. So we are just implementing the policy for what we were elected.
People living in Paris voted for this decision. They didn't ask people from outside Paris to vote.
Anne Hidalgo is just the mayor of Paris, which is only 2 million
inhabitants in an agglomeration of eleven or twelve. So there is a first problem,
which is the governance of this agglomeration. The policy of mobility can only affect the territory
of Paris. So there is this problem of governance, which is not solved.
The Ile de France region, a conurbation of 10 million inhabitants that surrounds the city
of Paris, is governed by a conservative party. Forward-looking transport projects
like suburban railroad lines which would connect the region with the center of Paris,
are not being implemented as quickly here as in the capital.
That's why people like Didier Renoux who live in the suburbs still depend on motorcycles.
In the city of Paris, where only 2 million people live, the socialist Anne Hidalgo and
her green coalition partners have given absolute priority to bicycles. This fuels heated debates.
We should always look at an overall point of view and
not just at the point of view of some individuals.
In the name of ecology, in the name of health,
in the name of saving the planet, what we decide is what’s going to happen.
These politicians are completely out of touch,
they've lost themselves in their doctrines, they're terrible dogmatists...
They demonize the majority of French people, the common and poor people,
who don’t have the means to buy sustainable cars, and blame them
for the destruction of the environment on this planet. And that’s shocking!
Backed by a referendum, Anne Hidalgo also ensured that large cars such as SUVs will
soon have to pay 18 euros per hour to park in the city center. A decision
that's causing additional tensions. She decided to have that symbolic fight:
Anti SUV… and that's something that creates - as we say in german - bad blood.
SUVs versus bicycles - an ideologically heated
discussion - but Arnaud Passalacqua doesn't want to hear any more about it.
The solutions to the problems of mobility are not to find in the mobility system. They are first
to find in the way we have organized or we will organize the city, the jobs, the localization of
jobs, the price of real estate. The first field of work is in these topics and not on mobility system
themselves. And the goal of this policy would be to reduce the journey between work and homes.
This is exactly what urban planner Carlos Moreno is already working on. Together with
the city administration, he's developed the “15-minute city” concept: Many mini centers
are to be created in Paris, where people can reach everything they need to live within 15 minutes.
We have identified 6 functions that make up the core of the “15-minute city”: living, working,
shopping, education, medical care and recreation. And if you can reach all of this in a quarter
of an hour by bike or on foot - i.e. without CO2 emissions - then we have happy citizens.
Work on the visionary concept has already begun. For example, the streets around schools, which are
an important part of a “15-minute city”, have been closed to traffic and converted into small parks.
The 15 minutes city, which is a motto of Anne Hidalgo and Carlos Moreno in Paris.
The problem is: it could be a very sustainable way of life, the 15 minute city. But how can we
afford such a place with the high density, a lot of services with a lot of jobs,
a lot of money too. The balance between what happens outside and what happens
inside is not very satisfactory in my point of view. The 15 minutes city for
some of the people is the one hour and 30 minutes city for other people, I would say.
Urban planner Carlos Moreno is also in close contact with architect Philippe Chiambaretta.
He has been commissioned by the City of Paris to give the Avenue de Champs Elysee - the historic
axis between Place de la Concorde and Arc de Triomphe - a new look.
Reducing the part of the car and getting this place accessible to people is one of our first
actions. Of course we cannot completely ban cars. It is a big debate in Paris.
I think we have to be careful and being a bit scientific about that and less ideological.
So that's very important. We want to be a very methodological and scientific and
not fighting pro or against cars. Changing the city is not something you do overnight.
Whether in its old or new incarnation, the Champs Elysee will probably always
retain its reputation as the most popular shopping street in the world.
My point of view is that Hidalgo´s policy is very ambivalent on the problem of the city as
a touristic city, Paris as a touristic city. In fact reconstructing Champs Elysee as a touristic
purpose – because it’s the most well-known street in Paris – but can we still have a
very touristic city, if we look really in front of us the problem of airplanes and the emissions?
Many tourists will also come to the Olympic Games, which will take place in Paris in the
summer of 2024. Even the city’s bid promised “Environmentally friendly games in the heart
of the city with an ecological mobility concept.” A wide range of adjustments
have been implemented to make the Olympic Games sustainable.
I guarantee you: The Olympics have helped us accelerate this city's urgently needed
transformation.. Without the Olympics we would need 20 years instead of just 10 to
achieve this transformation, which is becoming increasingly necessary due to climate change.
In order to connect the Olympic venues, a large-scale expansion
of the public transport network was planned. But much of it is still a construction site.
The prestigious “Grand Express” project, which will connect the center of Paris with the suburbs,
will not be completed until 2030. You have the impression that the
political ambition does not fit to the technical reality. So Paris unfortunately is not able
to present this whole range of new lines, either Metro or trains. And that is really a stress test.
The people of Paris are also looking ahead to a
summer with the Olympic Games in the city with some trepidation.
It probably will be a nightmare for any people having to go in Paris.
Because it will be a very, very, very complicated to run in Paris.
And if you use the metro you can see big ads asking people to stay home to work or just
to leave Paris. We don’t even feel welcome anymore in Paris. Even if we live in Paris
For the duration of the Olympics, the price of metro tickets has been almost doubled to
4 euros - presumably to prevent overcrowding. Is this the new Parisian sustainability?
We were opposed to that decision,
that was made by the president of the region. And we disagree with that measure.
This example makes clear, that there is a tension between the region, which is the decider for the
price of tickets and the mayor of Paris. On this the question I don't think that Paris
is a model because we have a history of divided territories between the center and the suburbs.
So is Paris not a role model for the future of mobility in metropolitan areas after all? Well,
even if not everything goes smoothly and not everyone agrees, one thing is clear:
The subject of mobility no longer leaves anyone in this city cold.
It´s true- something is happening. I would say to have a vision is a
good thing. This French way to have long-term objectives is a good thing.
Ecology is far too important an issue on this planet to be left to the
Green parties alone. We must ensure that everyone’s voice is heard on the subject
of pollution and mobility and that party boundaries and doctrines are transcended.
Can we live in the cities that were built in the twentieth century? Or do we need to adapt
our cities to new twenty-first Century and to the challenges that we will face?
It is probably possible in the future, but not right now. We have
to change with a progression – not change brutally like they try to do in Paris.
What we also ask is a better way to teach people how to live together,
how to drive, how to use the bikes, the mopeds, whatever…
And cities all over the world can learn something from this: In Paris, mobility has become an issue
that's being passionately discussed. And at some point, the right solutions will hopefuly be found.
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