It has become one of the traditional back-to-school meetings in the Paris region.
Paris Breathe Day, formerly known as Car-Free Day, returns this Sunday, September 18.
“Like last year, the whole city will be reserved for non-polluting traffic, that is to say bicycles, rollerblades, scooters, skateboards, pedestrians and users of public transport”, indicates the City of Paris.
Let it be said: motor vehicles, including electric ones, will be banned from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. throughout the territory of the capital.
The four central districts will even be pedestrianised, with barriers.
Residents can however circulate by being provided with a document in proof.
Only buses, taxis, VTC and emergency vehicles will be able to circulate
“In all the perimeters Paris breathes
(including the Paris breathes center sector)
, only buses, emergency vehicles and taxis will be authorized to circulate, with a maximum authorized speed of 20 km / h”, specifies the City again.
In the rest of the Paris area, buses, emergency vehicles, taxis and VTCs will be able to circulate, with a maximum authorized speed set at 30 km/h.
The car-free day is in particular an opportunity to walk the entire width of the avenue des Champs-Élysées (Paris 8th).
LP/M.-AG
Launched in 2015, Car-Free Sunday has gradually grown to become a festive event and a place for discussion on the theme of “active and carbon-free” mobility.
According to the organization Airparif, the absence of exhaust fumes during this day has a beneficial impact on air quality, with 7% less concentration of pollutants in the air of the capital compared to on other Sundays.
Here are the main events of this 8th edition.
A cycling village at La Concorde
At the initiative of the Parisian Network of Participatory and Solidarity Bike Workshops (RéPAR) and the Paris City Hall, the associative village Fête place aux vélo is set up in Place de la Concorde, one of the places in the capital of ordinary busiest by cars, from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.
On the program: a bicycle exchange, a self-repair workshop and a bicycle marking service (Bicycode) will be present.
Unusual bicycles will be visible on a test track, all accompanied by concerts and street performances.
An exhibition of comic strips on the theme of the bicycle, produced by the Association Mémoire et BD, will also be visible.
Among the albums presented, the excellent “Auto bio”, by Cyril Pedrosa, published by Éditions Fluide Glacial, and his humorous slices of life as a cyclist in Paris.
La Paride, a parade of bicycles from Pantin to Belleville
Another highlight: the great musical parade bringing together all kinds of cyclists.
The associations Yes We Camp, the Climate Academy, MDB and RéPAR unite to give birth to a large festive peloton.
The start will be given at 1:30 p.m., place de la Pointe à Pantin (Seine-Saint-Denis).
The procession will then go to the Parc de Belleville (Paris XXth), where the collective Gogo Green promises to make the crowd dance, from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.
La Grosse Rando for those crazy about urban sliding
Fans of gyroroues, longboards, skateboards and other rollerblades will also take advantage of the absence of cars on the road to have a blast over 18 km.
La Grosse Rando is open to everyone and at all levels.
A first gathering is scheduled for 10 a.m. at the Champ-de-Mars, before a second on the Anatole-France quay, between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.
The starting signal will be given in the direction of the Trocadéro, for an arrival around 5:30 p.m.
Free rides on Vélib'
Note that Vélib' offers, for one day, a free mechanical or electric bike ride of forty-five minutes, for all subscriptions with the promotional code "PARISRESPIRE".
Finally, the start-up Upway, specializing in reconditioned electric bicycles, will be present from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on the Place de la Bastille.
The opportunity to try attractively priced models for free.
