Paris on Sunday held the latest in a series of referendums on City Hall's ongoing green programmes, including for pedestrianisation of streets and increasing the cycling infrastructure.
The vote went 66 percent in favour of the next stage in the green spaces plan, the creation of 500 new "rues-jardin" - streets that have pedestrianised areas and extra green spaces and trees.
Turnout, however, was at just four percent, the lowest yet in the series of local votes that mayor Anne Hidalgo has called in order to gain legitimacy for her green policies.
Barely 56,500 of the 1.391 million people on the electoral roll took part in the vote, which for the first time was open to voters aged 16 and over. This represents a turnout of 4.06 percent, lower than the previous votes on the tripling of parking charges for SUVs in 2024 (5.68 percent), and the ban on self-service electric scooters a year earlier (7.46 percent).
The “for” vote prevailed in 14 of the 17 arrondissements (the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th being merged into one voting block named Paris Centre). The right-wing 7th, 8th and 16th arrondissements, on the other hand, voted against.
“This vote confirms our determination to continue opening up the public space to pedestrians and to make Paris an ever greener city,” Christophe Najdovski, deputy mayor of Paris in charge of green spaces, told AFP.
The 500 new streets will be added to the 300 of similar type that have been created since the start of Anne Hidalgo's second term in 2020, such as the “rues aux écoles”, which pedestrianised streets outside or near to schools.
Starting in April, consultations will begin in each arrondissement to identify the eligible lanes - between 5 and 8 per district. Implementation will take three or four years, and the average cost is estimated at €500,000 per street.
Najdovski commented: “I hope that all the borough mayors will play to the popular will expressed in this vote".
Since the beginning of Hidalgo's first term as mayor in 2014 the city of Paris has seen major changes with a big increase in cycle lanes and the pedestrianisation of some of the capital's major thoroughfares.
At the end of 2024 the central arrondissements of the city became 'limited traffic zones' in which private cars are banned, albeit with exemptions for residents, deliveries and people with disabilities.
She has also introduced a 50km/h speed limit on the city's ringroad and has plans to pedestrianise several more high-profile sites including the area around the Eiffel Tower and the Champs-Elysées.
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