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How Paris swapped cars for bikes - and transformed its streets

Under outgoing mayor Anne Hidalgo, the French capital added bike lanes, cut traffic and reclaimed public space, but not without resistance

When Corentin Roudaut moved to Paris[2] 10 years ago, he was too scared to cycle. The IT developer had biked everywhere as a student in Rennes but felt overwhelmed by the bustling French capital. Cars were everywhere.

Cyclists had almost no protection.

But once authorities carved out space for a segregated bike lane on Boulevard Voltaire near his home in the 11th arrondissement, Roudaut returned to the two-wheel commute and did not look back. He now volunteers with Paris en Selle, a cycling campaign group, and has watched with wonder as the city has shaken off its car-centric reputation.

"It was a process that started slow and really accelerated in the last 10 years," Roudaut said. "At least in some parts of the city, we have a [cycle] network that is starting to be safe and pretty much complete."

Paris has embarked on a grand transformation since Anne Hidalgo became mayor in 2014, planting 155,000 trees, adding several hundred kilometres of bike lanes, pedestrianising 300 school streets and banning cars from the banks of the Seine[3]. Parking spots have been turned into green spaces and terraces for cafes and bars.

Fewer parents have to fear their child being run over when they walk to school.

Now, as Hidalgo leaves office on Sunday after 12 years as mayor, her fight to make the city more livable has been held up as an example for progressive European cities as national governments roll back green policies.

"When people ask me if I have any advice, I say don't be afraid of being ambitious," said Roudaut, who last year welcomed a delegation of Green politicians from Germany trying to understand why Paris was doing what Berlin could not. Even though Hidalgo achieved only part of her plan, he added, "everybody's saying: 'Look at what Paris has done, it's so amazing.'"

Parisians do not all feel the same. Efforts to make streets safer have taken space away from cars, sparking direct opposition from motorists, while referendums on charging SUV drivers more[5] to park and pedestrianising more school streets were won with troublingly low turnouts.

Before last month's municipal elections, Rachida Dati[6], the mayoral candidate for the rightwing Les Republicains, criticised the chaos in public space as "anxiety-inducing", though she stopped short of proposing to undo central policies.