Pedestrians will rule the streets of Paris on New Year's Eve and into the early hours of 1 January under an ambitious "car-free city" scheme set up to celebrate the end of 2023.
Under the city hall's "Paris Respire" project, the first, second, third and fourth arrondissements of the capital are already closed to most vehicles between 10am and 6pm one Sunday a month.
On 31 December, the scheme will be rolled out through the night until 12:30am on New Year's Day.
While revellers will take advantage of the extension, more than a million people are expected to attend the annual extravaganza along the Champs-Elysées.
This year's celebration will culminate with a 10-minute firework show from midnight.
In the prelude to the pyrotechnics, DJs will play sets from 7pm which will be followed by a video-mapping display on the Arc de Triomphe.
⚠ Seul le secteur des Champs-Élysées sera piétonnisé pour fêter la nouvelle année, avec un programme placé sous le signe des Jeux Olympiques et Paralympiques. Feu d’artifice, animations musicales et artistiques : toutes les infos 👇 https://t.co/9lu6ccv2zZ
— Mairie de Paris Centre (@MParisCentre) December 27, 2023
“This measure has been eagerly awaited by residents," said Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo when she unveiled Paris Respire.
"It is the fruit of an important partnership between the prefecture of police, mayors of the district and neighbourhood associations.”
Hidalgo was re-elected in 2020 with the support of the France's EELV Green party.
She promised to tackle pollution by building new bus and cycle lanes and reclaiming many roads for pedestrians, including the expressways along the banks of the Seine river.
When the first three-month coronavirus lockdown ended in 2020, city officials created 50 kilometres of coronapistes (coronavirus cycle lanes) – designed to be a temporary measure – but Hidalgo later announced they would be made permanent.
Green image
City Hall’s green leanings are popular with many residents concerned about pollution levels, but Hidalgo's critics accuse her of being anti-motor vehicles.
Her environmental policies have been promoted as part of making Paris more attractive for tourists who will descend on the city for the 2024 Olympics and Paralympics.
Sixteen million are expected to circulate in the city and its surroundings from the start of the Games on 26 July, until the end of the Paralympics on 8 September.
Over the past fortnight, organisers of the Paris 2024 Olympics have come under fire for high prices of tickets for events.
And just seven months before the opening ceremony along the river Seine, a consumer champions group accused directors of three and four star hotels along the six kilometre route of profiteering.
UFC-Que Choisir compared the prices, 15 days apart, of 80 hotels and discovered that €1,033 was the average price being charged for the night of 26-27 July 2024, compared with €317 for the night of 12-13 July – an increase of 226 percent.
