Paris’s first attempt at car-free day brings big drop in air and noise pollution

Vehicle ban, applied to just 30% of French capital, showed encouraging results - but new report says nation has far to go

Paris's "day without cars" last week led to such a dramatic drop in both air and noise pollution that the mayor's office is now planning more vehicle-free days in the French capital.

Airparif, which measures city pollution levels, said levels of nitrogen dioxide dropped by up to 40% in parts of the city on Sunday 27 September.