So Paris is rolling out an ambitious plan to ban older cars from its city center. I actually think it's an interesting experiment in traffic and smog control. But what if you're a sexy, interesting person who drives a classic Citroën DS? Then you're in luck!
Starting July 1, cars registered before the end of 1996, vans and light trucks registered before 1997, and motorcycles and motorbikes from before 2000 will be banned from driving in Central Paris. By 2020, only cars registered after 2011 will be allowed in.
Many people, including readers of this website, have wondered where that leaves historic vehicles. It turns out Mayor Anne Hidalgo doesn't hate all cars, because vehicles 30 years old or older will exempted, according to Hemmings, citing a report from the Fédération Internationale des Véhicules Anciens.
Hidalgo has stated in a radio interview on French station BFM that collector vehicles will not be affected by the Parisian Plan de la Qualité de l'air—the legislation that calls for the ban. In addition, Tiddo Bresters, FIVA's vice president of legislation, said that FFVE has received a letter from Hidalgo herself stating that historic vehicles—those 30 years or older—will be exempt. As the FFVE pointed out in one of its recent news blasts, though, no such exemption has yet appeared in the text of the PQA.
I hope this exemption makes it into the bill text soon. Seeing has how historic vehicles make up just 1.5 percent of France's vehicle fleet, this seems like a good compromise. And what's Paris without a few old Citroëns running around?