It’s official! The summer scene above will now become a year-round reality as Paris’s city council has given final approval to permanently closing a stretch of road along the Seine from the Tuileries to the Bastille.
The 2-mile closure is part of Mayor Anne Hidalgo’s plans to make the city more pedestrian-and-visitor friendly, and to reduce the heavy pollution that Paris is also known for. The road has closed in summer for several years so that parts can serve as one of the city’s Paris Plages summer beaches.
Opponents claim that the closure will result in massive traffic jams; those in favor say that people will adjust, taking other routes, and hopefully opting for mass transit. When a similar stretch of highway on the Left Bank was closed 3 years ago, they say, that’s what happened.
A final decree, and approval by the Prefect of Police is needed, but it’s not considered likely that the Prefect will try to overrule the Mayor’s plans.
