RUE DE RIVOLI, PARIS, AND THE INCOMPETENCE AND INDEFFERENCE OF GOVERNMENTS

Rue de Rivoli

It is the evening rush hour and the Rue de Rivoli,  a major east-west road through central Paris, is heaving.


Pre-coronavirus it would have been one long traffic jam, numbed by increasingly impassioned and angry motorists.  Now, though with private cars prohibited it is busy with pedestrians, cyclists and a few taxis and buses.


North of Rue de Rivoli, in the Marais, a maze of narrow cobbled streets, cafes, restaurants and bars have spread out across pavements and parking places.

President Emmanuel Macron

As France returns to normal, after what President Emmanuel Macron described as a "war" on COVID-19, the battle is on now for public space in Paris.


The pedestriasation of Rue de Rivoli has crystalised the divide between competing interests, celebrated by cyclists and described by popular TV star, Thierry Ardisson, as a "dream" seen by motorists as part of City Hall's "obsession" to drive them out on the capital.

Unsurprisingly, France's motoring lobby fervently opposes the ongoing campaign by Socialist mayor Anne Hidalgo against private cars.  Her policy promises to put cycles lanes on all streets, swallowing up 60.000 parking places, 45% of those available in the city.  Motorist groups are furious "We are fed up of being portrayed as the bad guys", said a spokesman of 40 million automobilists.

The Mayor of Paris Anne Hidalco

Pierre Emmanuel Duport, of the Les Halles Residents Association, which includes Rue de Rivoli, said he was worried that driving cars out of central Paris would affect local businesses.  On the other hand, Hidalgo's decision to allow cafes and restaurants to use the pavements and parking places as temporary terraces has won general acclaim.


Restauranters in Paris are hoping for the coronavirus rules to be further relaxed, next week, allowing them to fully open the temporary terraces or until the end of September.


But for pedestrians, especially those with children or limited mobility - forced to avoid cycles, motorbikes, scooters sometimes even cars on city pavements - the war for space continues.


The Parisians are angry and say "At this historic moment, we demand better.  From the coronavirus pandemic and police brutality to the marginalisation of minority communities around the world, leadership is broken.  Devoid of the humility and the inclusivity we so desperately need, and given to narcissism, leaders are gambling with public health safety and the future of younger generations.  They unapologetically prioritise serving themselves over the people that they were elected to serve. We have to let them raise their game." 


According to The Guardian, the newspaper investigates, interrogates and exposes the incompetence and the indifference of those in power, without fear.  "We give our votes to the oppressed and neglected and stand up in solidarity with those who are calling for a fairer future."


(I wish to thank The Guardian for the valuable information for this post) 

By Eelke Jelles Eelkema