Paris
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Anyone who visited Paris just over a decade ago was undoubtedly captivated by the city’s timeless charm: brasseries serving delicious food, museums filled with famous works of art, and boulevards lined with chic shops. All of this is overlooked by the twinkling lights of the Eiffel Tower.
But they would have noticed that Paris is still dominated by La Voiture, despite being home to Europe’s busiest metro. At that time, cars crisscrossed the road network in the heart of the French capital. Pedestrians were squeezed onto narrow sidewalks, and cafe terraces across the city served coffee and croissants to customers while breathing in exhaust fumes.
Paris is different today. Tourists roam the pedestrian streets more freely than ever, breathing clean air. For those who like to get around by bike, there are hundreds of miles of bike lanes that allow you to safely navigate the city.
Much of that is thanks to one woman. Ann Hidalgo is a Spanish immigrant who rose to become the city’s first female mayor and one of the most dynamic mayors of our time. She is now one of Paris’ most globally known leaders, particularly for her iconic swim in the Seine during the 2024 Olympics, highlighting her long-standing campaign to clean up the once-polluted river.
But while tourists may be grateful to Hidalgo, who is stepping down this month after 12 years of change, many Parisians are unhappy with Hidalgo’s departure from their city.
Beyond pedestrian streets and bike lanes, the familiar cacophony of horns complained by drivers is, if anything, louder than ever. The same goes for the complaints of people who rely on buses in endless traffic jams.
“Boulevard Batignolles is always congested,” says Catherine, 73, who spent decades living on Paris’ wide boulevards as a resident of the surrounding 9th arrondissement. “Sometimes seven buses are stuck in a row!”
When Hidalgo, a member of the French Socialist Party, was elected mayor in 2014, tackling congestion and encouraging people to walk was one of his priorities. Her administration removed parking spaces and banned car traffic in entire streets and squares. The number of cars in the city has decreased significantly.
This is a favorite with many of the millions of tourists who visit Paris each year. “Making it easier to walk around is definitely the No. 1 thing for me,” said Leon Crawford, a 23-year-old structural engineer who was visiting from Virginia with his girlfriend.
“I’m grateful to be able to do that. The fact that I can come here for vacation and not have to worry about renting a car.”
Hidalgo’s pedestrianization drive has received some support from local parents, especially the “Rues aux Ecoles” or “Streets for Schools” campaign, which permanently closes 100 streets around public schools to traffic.
“In a concrete-heavy area with few parks, we now have more outdoor space for children and adults,” says Théophile Chamar, a father of three whose house fronts La Bienfaisance Avenue, which has lower priority for car traffic. “The street is an additional soccer field.”
His son, 6-year-old Baltazar Shamar, agreed: “Without cars, there’s less smoke, so it’s great.”
Paris has won international praise for its efforts to curb cars. The Washington-based Urban Research Institute cited the city as a model for urban planning and pedestrianization. Ask any visitor on the car-free streets and you’ll also hear praise for the environment Hidalgo helped create.
“I love walking in Paris. I think it’s my favorite place,” says Yulia Hutusarenko, 32, a Ukrainian refugee from Kiev.
Irish couple John and Dervla Keogh, who have returned to the city after almost 40 years, also praised the changes. “There’s always something new. There’s always something good in the place,” John said.
But not all Hidalgo voters are flocking here for emissions-free thoroughfares. Many believe life in Paris will worsen under her tenure. And although she defied her critics and secured a second term in 2019 despite low turnout, many see her departure as long overdue.
Much of her unpopularity is rooted in the Paris Bless campaign’s traffic management policies, with complaints that pushing cars out of the city center only creates more congestion on other roads.
In fact, traffic congestion in Paris has increased by 4% since 2015, and public transport has also suffered, with bus usage decreasing by 31% between 2018 and 2024. Grégoire de Lastillie, vice president of Ile de France Mobilité, the government agency that oversees Paris’ public transport, said the focus was elsewhere. “Simply put, the bus network was not a priority for the Hidalgo government.”
And Paris is now seen as a model for cities seeking to integrate bicycle networks into existing infrastructure, another step that many residents feel goes too far.
The proliferation of cycling is an issue in this weekend’s vote to choose Hidalgo’s successor, and her opponents are focusing on the issue. “We still don’t have space for everyone in the city, and the bicycle boom is putting pedestrians at risk,” said Rachel Flore Pardo, a 32-year-old lawyer running for mayor of Paris’ 17th arrondissement.
In 2020, Hidalgo announced plans to make Paris the “world capital of cycling” through plan vélo (bicycle plan). The 2024 IQair report says Paris now beats them in air quality, although it was previously worse than London and Madrid.
This has been a success for people who cycle, primarily adults of working age. Nearly a third of Parisians now ride bicycles, and 9% commute to work on two wheels. In 2025, Paris was crowned Europe’s best cycling city in a ranking. Although less successful, road redesigns have been reported to increase hospitalizations for cyclists and pedestrians.
Solar Lu, a 23-year-old Parisian, is among those feeling the benefits. “Hidalgo really changed my life. I can now ride my bike on any road,” he says. For young, fashion-forward, able-bodied Parisians, the new walking and cycling options along the Seine are a boon that was once dominated by cars. “It feels really good, especially in the summer.”
Lu says there are no safety concerns, but acknowledges that other bike networks may not fare as well in situations where they still intersect roads open to cars. Futusarenko admits he is struggling. “Parisians don’t really respect traffic rules,” she says. “It’s a stereotype, but it’s true. They are very fast and are always in a hurry.”
Juliette Refha, a 21-year-old student from Quebec, uses bicycles to get around the city, but says some areas lack facilities for cyclists and are too dangerous. “Certainly, it’s very scary when you don’t have clear bike lanes.”
The surge in cyclists is scaring some pedestrians. “It’s dangerous for pedestrians,” says Bernadette, a 66-year-old university teacher. “Cyclists are always cutting in front of cars, running red lights, and basically doing whatever they want.
Some tourists remain unfazed. Zach, who is part of a group of University of Kentucky students on spring break, told CNN that the cycling scene in Paris seems orderly compared to other European destinations. “You don’t have a bike passing by every 10 seconds,” he says. “You guys are ahead of Amsterdam.”
Despite improvements in air quality and urban mobility, many local residents remain dissatisfied. According to a 2023 IFOP poll, 59% feel the city is not moving in the right direction, up from 36% before Hidalgo took office.
“She’s constantly criticized and still reelected. I don’t understand that at all,” says Lionel Pradal, owner of a bistro on busy Rue Martir. “Parisians never go to vote. Then they complain. This is the problem with the French, it’s always been the same.”
Back in the 9th arrondissement, resident Catherine laments the changes in Paris’s streetscape, particularly in the Place du Dublin near her home. “Everything changed,” she says. “This square was amazing,” he said, noting that the cobblestones featured on the canvas of Impressionist Gustave Caillebotte’s 1877 painting “A Paris Street on a Rainy Day” were buried under pavement and asphalt as part of Hidalgo’s urban transformation.
Théophile Chamar supports car-free roads, but warns against rapid change. “Paris is a 1,500-year-old city, so there’s no need to change everything quickly,” he says. “We need to adapt slowly to the needs of the population.” But renovating an old palace can also bring everything down. ”
What Paris’ more than 40 million annual visitors can expect in the coming years will largely depend on who Hidalgo’s successor is. Opinion polls ahead of the second round of elections on March 22 showed his Socialist Party colleague Emmanuel Grégoire in pole position, but by no means sealed victory.
Hidalgo, who overcame the deadly terrorist attacks in November 2015 that killed 132 people, the coronavirus pandemic and the Notre Dame cathedral fire in April 2019 during her tenure, also counts redefining Paris as a city of walkable streets and bike lanes as one of her key legacies.
“When I see parents taking their kids to school in the bike lane, tears come to my eyes,” she told reporters recently. “Wow, I say to myself, I’m just like them, a Parisian who dreamed of living better in my city. And I was able to pave that path.”
