Transport Minister “not convinced”

François Durovray, the new Minister of Transport, has declared that he is not convinced by Anne Hidalgo’s plan to impose 50 km/h on the Paris ring road.

Having just arrived at the French Government, the New Minister of Transport François Durovray opposed the project of the speed limit of 50 km/h on the Paris ring road.

A 50 km/h speed limit from October 1, 2024

Always involved in the Essonne department and the Île-de-France region, François Durovray is particularly concerned by the quality of the road infrastructure in the Paris region. During an interview with our colleagues at Le Parisien, the new Minister of Transport said concerned about Anne Hidalgo’s plans for the Paris ring road.
“I intend to discuss the subject with the mayor of Paris because the ring road is not just the infrastructure of Parisians. It is an infrastructure that concerns the whole of Île-de-France and well beyond.”declared François Durovray, Minister Delegate in charge of Transport.
On this occasion, François Durovray clarified that the desire to reduce noise and pollution was legitimate, but that it was not “not convinced” by this project… “This is not a decision that the mayor of Paris can take alone”he specifies. Let us recall that Anne Hidalgo has planned to impose a reduction in the speed limit to 50 km/h on the Paris ring road, starting from October 1, 2024.

The Paris ring road, a political playground

Instead of further restricting the daily travel of motorists in the Paris region, the new Minister of Transport has mentioned several solutions more appropriate to reduce noise pollution from the ring road: for example, installing a more efficient soundproofing coating, or developing new alternative public transport options. Common sense solutions for improve the daily lives of Parisianswithout penalizing users of the ring road.
Inaugurated in 1973, the Paris ring road is a strategic path for traffic in Île-de-France: it is used by more than a million users every day, and the vast majority of them live beyond the borders of Paris. It is therefore a major axis, which has a significant impact on the quality of life of the people of Île-de-France, as well as other French motorists who use it every day.
The speed limit on the Paris ring road has long been an exception in the French Highway Code: set at 80 km/h In 1993, the maximum authorized speed increased to 70 km/h from 2014, officially under the pretext of reducing air and noise pollution. These are the same arguments that were announced to impose the 50 km/h in 2024.

Since her arrival at the head of Paris City Hall in 2014, Anne Hidalgo and her team have continued to imagine numerous controversial projects for the ring road: removal of lanes, pedestrianization, greening, transformation into a park, lowering the speed limit… Will the new Minister of Transport finally be able to put an end to these autophobic projects ?