LIVING IN PARIS (ALMOST) WITHOUT A CAR
We could actually hear the birds sing on Car Free Day and during the lockdown!
We were finally able to open our windows and take a deep breath.
But 2 million cars, scooters, trucks...are now back on the road every day, making it seem like was inevitable. It's not.
We don't want to plunge back into an abyss and accept a reality where pollution prematurely kills more than 2500 Parisians a year by increasing the risks of spreading the coronavirus.
We want to live EVERY DAY in a city that smells good and is full of life.
We want individual cars and motorized 2-wheelers to become the exception in Paris.
This is vital for our health and in order to meet environmental standards.
It is possible by showing political courage.
We can enjoy travelling without polluting by adopting clean modes of transportation.
And best of all, it's friendly! A city "without" cars is first and foremost a city that lives "for" its inhabitants, providing thousands of opportunities to meet, have fun, play sports, dream, and to enjoy a peaceful city.
Here are just a few of the many encounters in the streets of Paris (temporarily) free of cars. Spot the one that doesn't belong.
Click on the pictures to enlarge them.
A day without cars all over Paris
When we launched the idea in 2015, it was an impossible dream.
Now, it has turned into an annual event that brings about sustainable transformations in the city.
Why this event ? To create a desirable future.
For one day, experience a more pleasant city to live in. It's not a day dedicated to banning cars, it's a day of celebration, curiosity, commitment and citizenship. It's an opportunity to rediscover our streets opening them up to creativity, and exploring clean modes of transportation. It is a chance to reflect on what sharing of public space means, and to accelerate the evolution of behaviours towards the motorized vehicles. We want this event to be a trigger for politicians to reduce the role of cars for a more sustainable future.
Making Paris a car-free for a day is a strong symbol that effectively shows that Paris is fighting with boldness and determination against road traffic pollution and climate change. It is more than wishful thinking, it is a cry from the heart: Our city must send a powerful signal to the world, that matches today's challenges and allows us to project ourselves into tomorrow's world.
It is an invitation to become positively involved in the transformations of our city. This event, initiated by a few inhabitants and co-constructed with the city, shows how strong a dream can be when it's a shared vision.
It is an exceptional laboratory for measuring the impact of visual, atmospheric and noise pollution, and a valuable measuring tool for the acceptability of deeper changes.
Why this event ? To create a desirable future.
For one day, experience a more pleasant city to live in. It's not a day dedicated to banning cars, it's a day of celebration, curiosity, commitment and citizenship. It's an opportunity to rediscover our streets opening them up to creativity, and exploring clean modes of transportation. It is a chance to reflect on what sharing of public space means, and to accelerate the evolution of behaviours towards the motorized vehicles. We want this event to be a trigger for politicians to reduce the role of cars for a more sustainable future.
Making Paris a car-free for a day is a strong symbol that effectively shows that Paris is fighting with boldness and determination against road traffic pollution and climate change. It is more than wishful thinking, it is a cry from the heart: Our city must send a powerful signal to the world, that matches today's challenges and allows us to project ourselves into tomorrow's world.
It is an invitation to become positively involved in the transformations of our city. This event, initiated by a few inhabitants and co-constructed with the city, shows how strong a dream can be when it's a shared vision.
It is an exceptional laboratory for measuring the impact of visual, atmospheric and noise pollution, and a valuable measuring tool for the acceptability of deeper changes.
The parade of birds
Car Free Day on September 27, 2020. In a context of reinforced covid sanitary measures, we improvise in a few days a sticky and cooing Bird Parade. Not even afraid of the rain with our feathered capes!
We warmly thank our accomplices and partners Street Art Rebellion, La Rue Est A Nous, TEP Ménilmontant, Vélorution Paris IdF, Cafézoïde, Respire, Le Pré en Transition, La Voie est Libre, Solar Sound System, the Olvo cyclo-logistics cooperative, Delphine Kohler.
A glance at our ride from Montreuil to Chatelet.Why this event ? To create a desirable future.
For one day, experience a more pleasant city to live in. It's not a day dedicated to banning cars, it's a day of celebration, curiosity, commitment and citizenship. It's an opportunity to rediscover our streets opening them up to creativity, and exploring clean modes of transportation. It is a chance to reflect on what sharing of public space means, and to accelerate the evolution of behaviours towards the motorized vehicles. We want this event to be a trigger for politicians to reduce the role of cars for a more sustainable future.
Making Paris a car-free for a day is a strong symbol that effectively shows that Paris is fighting with boldness and determination against road traffic pollution and climate change. It is more than wishful thinking, it is a cry from the heart: Our city must send a powerful signal to the world, that matches today's challenges and allows us to project ourselves into tomorrow's world.
It is an invitation to become positively involved in the transformations of our city. This event, initiated by a few inhabitants and co-constructed with the city, shows how strong a dream can be when it's a shared vision.
It is an exceptional laboratory for measuring the impact of visual, atmospheric and noise pollution, and a valuable measuring tool for the acceptability of deeper changes.
Our Car-Free Day festivities
We have terrific animations planned for this great annual meeting. Check the events from previous years:
Quartier Libre , transformation of a popular district
Car-Free Day 2019
On September 22nd, many events transformed the streets of the 10th arrondissement into the Street of Siestas, Street of Sports, Street of Music, etc. to materialize our dream of the city of tomorrow with inhabitants and actors performing in the streets. Everything was exceptional! Discover the scene of this day.
Unusual walk with Rob Hopkins from Pré St Gervais to Paris X
Car-Free Day 2019
On a bike, rollerblades or on a giant lighthouse, we crossed Paris with our friends from the Pré St Gervais and discovered the historical monuments from an angle that's usually obstructed because of cars. In spite of heavy rain, a delicious zero-waste soup made for a comforting welcome upon arrival in Quartier libre.
Create a leggy garden
with Claude Ponti
Car-Free Day
We co-initiated this "where everyone wins"' contest with Claude Ponti and publisher L'École des Loisirs. Many children created imaginative garden costumes to walk around during the day without a car, and they won books.
To see the results of the competition click here
Children's Streets
Car-Free Days 2016 - 2017 - 2018 - 2019
We support the streets wher our children can actively develop and that display joyful signage to help share the space with the bikes.
Motorless parades
Car-Free Days 2016 - 2017 - 2018 - 2019
Every year, we organize with our friends from Vélorution and MDB a giant ride on bicycle, scooters, wheelbarrows or in ORNI's (Unidentified Rolling Objects).100% oil-free but brimful of fantasy and fun! Among the stars: cardboard bike-cars, a giant lighthouse, musicians on wheels and a blue dragon.
The Place de la Concorde is ours!
Car-Free Day 2018
On September 16, we invited young and old to take part in a festive, sporty and zero waste picnic held on the Place de la Concorde, with poppies abounding and cars nowhere to be found. Throughout Heritage Days, this was a rare opportunity to enjoy a magnificent square usually overrun by a 14-lane urban highway.
Claude Ponti's chicks invade Paris
Car-Free Day 2017
The children were invited to find an unusual place in the streets to stick chicks (repositionable stickers), and photograph them. Within 4 hours, they sent more than 3000 pictures. This contest was organized with Claude Ponti, publishing house L'école des Loisirs, media libraries, bookshops and several borough town halls.
Village of mobile initiatives with Les Grands Voisins
Car-Free Day 2016
On September 25th, Les Grands Voisins sported the colors of soft mobility. Teaming with the Cartons Pleins bicycle movers, they hosted round-table discussions, bicycle-hiking workshops, a race of anything and everything, a cyclo-restaurant, a musical parade and a big ball...
DIY 0 waste workshops to prepare events in the street
Since 2015
We prepared parades and animations during open workshops using recycled material: construction of cardboard bikes and cars, decoration of bikes and scooters with nothing much. Tutorial to build a "car bike".
Our other actions
We are mobilizing against air pollution and to make the streets child-friendly.
Here are some actions in which we are participating with partners and friends.
The Street is Ours Campaign
2020
We join the campaign led by Alternatiba Paris with Friends of the Earth Paris, Extinction Rebellion, France Nature Environnement Paris, Greenpeace, les inCOPruptibles, Mieux se Déplacement en Bicyclette, Paris sans Voiture, Respire, Rue de l'avenir, Vélorution, and la Voie est Libre, which aims to halve the place of cars and motorized two-wheelers in Paris. To find out more about the campaign
Let's play in the Children's Streets
201520172017- 2018- 20192019
We run funny tours.
When the street is free of cars, it's an occasion to test slalom skiing on bottles.
Stroller Funeral March
November 1, 2018
"Breathing shouldn't kill!" Yet, the WHO report published October 29th reveals that children are the first victims of air pollution: 600,000 children die from it every year, thousands develop serious disorders in Paris. To denounce this, we marched to the morgue with the collective Respir’Action.
Masked statues because breathing kills
March 31, 2018
We masked more than a hundred statues in Paris, to urge politicians to take much-needed action against pollution.
Air de Paris - Special vintages
Peak pollution December 2016
Alas, excessive consumption of Paris air is a health hazard. During a serious pollution peak, we distributed bottles of “Air de Paris Appellation of Polluted Origin”. You can select your choice vintage of diesel, motorcyclists, wood heating…
Who are we?
We are a bunch of Parisians who proposed to the city to launch a car-free day all over Paris.
We have been speaking about it independently since 2014.
We come from all walks of life and include people from the Paris region, ages 7 to 89, bringing together a variety of professions, active volunteers in different organizations and dreamers. We have a range of personalities who have supported the project from day one: scientists, artists and many others.
We are organized as an independent association of the municipality, voluntary and apartisan. We actively engage in dialogue with the city so that the inhabitants are considered real actors of the project. We bring ideas and accompany the process in a critical, vigilant and constructive way, so that the event can pave the way to lasting transformations.
The following collectives and associations are committed to supporting us in creating a car-free day that reflects the spirit of citizenship spirit we believe in. Agir pour l'environnement, Les Alchimistes, Alternatiba Paris, Amis de la Terre Paris, Avaaz, Cafézoïde, Cyclofficine, Dédale, Disco soupe, Festival des Utopies Concrètes, Fullmobs, REFEDD, Respir'action, Réseau Action Climat RAC, Réseau AMAP, Terre de liens idf, Transition France, Vélorution, Vergers Urbains, La Voie est Libre, We are ready now. What brings us together: the values of this ambitious citizen project.
We want the Paris experience to inspire other cities, just as we have been inspired by other initiatives around the world, such as the Ecofestival on the La Voie est Libre motorway in Montreuil or the Car Free Day in Brussels.
