• With one million vehicles using it daily, the ring road is a major infrastructure in the Paris region.

    And whoever wants to touch it necessarily exposes himself to lively opposition.

  • It is to defuse this that Anne Hidalgo held a press conference this Wednesday at the Climate Academy on her project to transform the ring road in the presence of many mayors of neighboring municipalities.

  • On the other hand, apart from the political display, very few announcements, except the passage in 2×3 lanes, including one reserved for virtuous modes of transport, by 2030.

The majestic decor of the Climate Academy's party hall, projectors, two rows of seats reserved for elected officials, a twenty-minute delay... Anne Hidalgo's (PS) press conference on the transformation of the ring road, “from the gray belt to the green belt”, promised heavy.

But, from the outset, the vagueness of the three objectives of this transformation, the third of which is the condition of the second – guaranteeing a better quality of life, combating global warming, reducing greenhouse gas pollution – heralded a disappointment, at least in terms of content.

Because level political display, the objective is reached.

And it is not for nothing that in his introductory word, the first deputy Emmanuel Grégoire (PS) wanted to thank "the very many mayors who came to participate in this conference".

Indeed, given the flammability of the subject and the tensions with the Ile-de-France region, which is demanding the management of the ring road with one million daily trips, the municipality wanted to show that it is not acting alone and that it account of the inhabitants of the first ring.

The great rally of left-wing mayors

“We couldn't move forward on our own, we didn't want to move forward on our own”, assured Anne Hidalgo before adding: “I cannot ignore the 10 million people who live outside of Paris.

On the other hand, apart from the UDI mayor of Vanves, Bernard Gauducheau, all the other city councilors come from municipalities in the east of the Parisian suburbs and claim to be left-wing.

Of course, it's easier to come to an agreement when you're on the same political side.

But, even under these conditions, the announcements were as light as a puffed potato.

The main one, by David Belliard (EELV), deputy in charge of roads: “Between 2024 and 2030, the ring road will switch to 2×3 lanes, including the one inherited from the Olympics”.

As a reminder, this lane will be reserved for Olympic travel in 2024 and then kept to be dedicated to carpooling, taxis, buses, etc.

This therefore implies, in the long term, the removal of a lane, in particular on the northern part of the ring road.

Revegetation, “an extraordinary and fabulous lever”

In addition, the municipality wishes to vegetate the surroundings of the road belt.

“Let’s plant massively on the embankments of the ring road!

launched Christophe Najdowski, deputy in charge of revegetation.

He also announced the “creation of new green spaces in a strip of 500 m on either side of the ring road for a total of 10 hectares.

“Very enthusiastic, Anne Hidalgo assured that this “vegetation is an extraordinary and fabulous lever to transform all this territory”.

Our folder on the device

Finally, in the second part of the conference, Emmanuel Grégoire invited us to "an urban stroll" along the ring road to take stock of the gates and squares undergoing transformation.

Nothing new under the sun since the projects had been previously announced.

But know that for 2024, the renovation of the gates of Clichy, La Chapelle, Brancion, Dauphine and Maillot will be completed.

But even when we try to be as consensual as possible, we find sorrowful spirits, especially among the environmental partners of the town hall of Paris.

While they are pleased with the transformation of the ring road into an urban boulevard which was a "long-standing request from ecologists", they claim to "lower the speed now to 50 km/h", which "is not the topic today,” retorted Anne Hidalgo.

Finally, they ask for "a moratorium on construction" pending the transfer of the device.

There is still work to do to agree.

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