184 Parisian traders denounce the ZTL set up by Anne Hidalgo

© bertrand GUAY/POOL/AFP Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo in Suresnes, near Paris, on June 18, 2017.

The limited traffic zone (ZTL) established by Paris City Hall to ease traffic in the center of the capital is the subject of a legal appeal. 184 traders denounce a measure harmful to their business, deemed poorly thought out and poorly communicated.

Established on November 4 in the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th arrondissements of Paris, the ZTL desired by Anne Hidalgo increasingly resembles a battlefield. In an appeal filed on Friday, December 20 and communicated to Figaro, 184 traders, supported by two federations, denounce a decision imposed without real consultation. The traffic restriction is supposed to reduce pollution and smooth traffic flow, but for professionals, it seems above all to be an economic blow. “The ZTL, as it is designed today, is an unbalanced measure, taken without consideration of local economic realities. The lung of Paris is suffocating,” protests Patrick Aboukrat, president of the Marais Paris committee, highlighting the extent of the damage already visible on local businesses.

As is often the case, the city's ecological argument is not convincing. The city hall is basing its decision on a study that shows that 88% of city centre customers travel on foot or by public transport, implying that cars are nothing more than parasites. But for retailers, customers “in cars” remain the most profitable. Yohann Petiot, director of the Alliance du Commerce, sums it up: “Certainly, there are few people who come by car to make their purchases, but when they come to Paris, they transform their purchases more significantly than customers who come on foot or by public transport.” A crucial point and a part of the population that the city royally ignores.

For their part, the merchants' lawyers emphasize the illegality of this measure, which is based on obsolete data dating from 2017. Ian Ouaknine, lawyer for the plaintiffs, warns of the devastating impact of the ZTL, particularly on small businesses that depend on the passage of motorists. Far from making life easier for residents, this decision risks creating a fracture in the local economy, favoring large stores to the detriment of local businesses. 

In fact, the battle over this “second ring road” that Anne Hidalgo is creating goes far beyond the simple question of traffic: it touches on the very heart of Paris' economic model. It remains to be seen whether the City Hall, in its ecological objective, will be able to find a balance before this policy definitively kills local commerce.

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