--- description: Paris will ban cars registered before 1997 from traveling at certain hours, the latest measure aimed at tackling the city's air pollution title: Paris Air Pollution Leads to Ban on Old Cars image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3fc4485ba19bf879/698895ed5f570f341fb212bd/paris-air-pollution-car-ban.jpeg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Environment](/tag/environment/) ## Environment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Paris Addresses Air Pollution With Ban on Old Cars  by [Justin Worland](/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Senior Correspondent Jun 2, 2016 11:47 AM CUT  A view of the Eiffel Tower and the city surrounded by high levels of air pollution on Nov. 2, 2015 in Paris, France. A view of the Eiffel Tower and the city surrounded by high levels of air pollution on Nov. 2, 2015 in Paris, France.Chesno—Getty Images  by [Justin Worland](/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Senior Correspondent Jun 2, 2016 11:47 AM CUT Paris will ban cars registered before 1997 from traveling in the city center during the day, the latest in a [string of measures](http://time.com/4051345/paris-car-free-streets/ "undefined") aimed at tackling the city’s air pollution, city officials said this week. The announcement, [reported](http://www.lesechos.fr/politique-societe/regions/021979726430-paris-les-voitures-davant-1997-seront-bien-interdites-de-circulation-a-partir-du-1er-juillet-2002394.php "undefined") by financial newspaper Les Echos, comes as part of a broader tiered system to evaluate which cars can enter the city at any given time. Diesel vehicles manufactured before 2011 will also face particularly tough regulations when the measure takes effect July 1. Air pollution has reemerged in Paris—along with [other major European cities](http://time.com/4316873/london-mayor-election-air-pollution/ "undefined") like London—as a key public health issue. The rise is at least in part due to a spike in the prevalence of diesel vehicles. These cars, which were once marketed as clean alternatives, have lower greenhouse gas emissions than their petroleum counterparts, but emit many times the nitrogen dioxide, which contributes to respiratory problems and asthma. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4354809/paris-air-pollution-car-ban/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4354809/paris-air-pollution-car-ban/"},"headline":"Paris Addresses Air Pollution With Ban on Old Cars","datePublished":"2016-06-02T11:47:49.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T22:20:41.149Z","description":"The city is just one of many European cities with an air pollution problem","url":"https://time.com/4354809/paris-air-pollution-car-ban/","keywords":["Environment","France"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3fc4485ba19bf879/698895ed5f570f341fb212bd/paris-air-pollution-car-ban.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Justin Worland","jobTitle":"Senior Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/justin-worland/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3fc4485ba19bf879/698895ed5f570f341fb212bd/paris-air-pollution-car-ban.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Paris air pollution car ban","caption":"Paris air pollution car ban","creditText":"Chesno—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/environment/","name":"Environment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4354809/paris-air-pollution-car-ban/","name":"Paris Addresses Air Pollution With Ban on Old Cars"}}]}] ```