This past Sunday, pedestrians had the right-of-way all day while strolling Paris’ Champs-Élysées Avenue. Closing its thoroughfare to traffic, the city’s authorities enabled visitors to walk the 1.2-mile-long street without worrying about cars disrupting their sightseeing. Originally scheduled for May 1, the closure was delayed for a week to avoid International Workers Day protests.
Mayor Anne Hidalgo stated the event was an effort to reduce air pollution and "bring Parisians back to this emblematic place which belongs to them.” Normally, the avenue’s eight lanes are busy with traffic, adding to Paris’ poor air quality which rivals that of cities like Beijing and Shanghai. Going forward, the first Sunday of each month will be open to pedestrians only. The avenue typically attracts around 300,000 visitors a day during those closures. Nine new routes will also be reserved for pedestrians and bicycles every Sunday and public holidays as a part of the "Paris Respire" (Paris Breathes) anti-pollution initiative. The next car-free day will be on June 5.
