THE French capital gave birth to the flâneur, that casual wanderer of the modern town whose “immense joy” is to stroll the streets “amid the ebb and flow of movement”, in the words of Baudelaire. Paris remains a delight on foot, with its narrow cobbled alleys and pedestrian bridges across the Seine. But most of the ebb and flow these days comes from traffic roaring along the main boulevards. Now, in an effort to awaken its inhabitants’ inner flâneurs, Paris is to hold its first car-free day, on September 27th.
Inspired by similar events elsewhere, notably in Brussels, a group of eco-citizens came up with the idea last year. They petitioned Anne Hidalgo, the capital’s Socialist mayor, who in turn had to lobby the (nationally controlled) Paris police. The upshot is not the complete car ban that the group originally sought. The car-free zone will cover only the capital’s central neighbourhoods. It will take place on a Sunday. And taxis, buses and residents’ cars will still be allowed on the streets, albeit at crawling pace.
Yet the event may well capture the imagination of…
