Paris mayor wins: 50 km/h on entire ring road from October 10

Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo has won her battle: the planned 50 km/h speed limit will be introduced on part of the Paris ring road tomorrow and will apply everywhere there from October 10.

New French Transport Minister François Durovray “regrets the decision, which will affect millions of Île-de-France residents.” But Durovray, who threatened to scrap the plan only last week, admits that the Paris mayor “has every right to apply a speed reduction.”

Gradual rollout

The rollout of lowering the speed limit from the current 70 to 50 km/h will begin as early as tomorrow and will apply between Porte des Lilas (northeast) and Porte d’Orléans (south), a 13-km stretch. Then, the speed limit on the 35-km-long beltway will be rolled out gradually – certain lanes will be closed in sections at night to install the new signage – before being generalized to the entire ring road on October 10.

The decision to lower the speed was met with fierce criticism from Paris employers’ organizations, among others. They denounced it as a “unilateral” and “antisocial” measure and questioned the authority of the Paris mayor on the matter.

Discussions on separate lanes are still underway

New Transport Minister François Durovray met with mayor Hidalgo on Friday. Durovray was also not in favor of the introduction and had made it clear that he thought, “This is not a decision that the mayor of Paris can take alone.”

But after the meeting with Hidalgo, the Minister let it be understood that “with respect for the autonomy of local authorities,” the decision “is legally the sole responsibility of the mayor of Paris.” However, he regrets it and points out that no impact study exists on the subject.

He also hopes that there will be more room for a “more collaborative and balanced approach in the future when introducing measures related to the Paris ring road.”

For her part, Hidalgo announced that she had regretfully noted the Minister’s disagreement but also that she would implement the measure as of October 1, as announced. “This decision was taken after a long consultation over several years with the state and other local authorities,” the Socialist mayor said.

According to Patrick Bloche, the first deputy mayor of Paris, motorists who do not respect the measure “will not be charged from October 1—there’s going to be a transition period.” Whether there will also be a separate lane on the ring road for buses, cabs, and carpools with two or more passengers is not clear yet. “Open discussions on this matter are still underway with the Paris police prefecture,” said Bloche.