No cars allowed

Paris

The historic center of Paris will be closed to outside vehicles by 2012, under a plan announced this week by Mayor Bertrand Delanoe. Residents of the four central arrondissements, or districts—an area that includes the Louvre, the Paris Opera, and Notre Dame—will be allowed to keep their cars. All other vehicles, except buses and ambulances, will be banned. Most Paris residents support the plan, but local business owners and the car lobby are strongly opposed. Christian Gérondeau, president of the Auto Club, said banning cars would “make Paris a ghetto, cutting it off from the suburbs.” The plan must be approved by the city council, and could be canceled if Delanoe fails to get re-elected in 2007.