Sawt Falasteen - Parisians back 'garden roads' scheme in record low turnout

Some two-thirds of those who voted in the poll on Sunday backed the plan, dubbed the "garden roads" scheme, but only four percent of the Paris electorate turned out to cast their ballots.

Paris city hall under Socialist mayor Anne Hidalgo is fond of using such de-facto referendums to push through plans, notably enforcing change after past votes to ban rental e-scooters and triple parking charges for SUVs.

But the opposition led by the right accuse Hidalgo of using them as a stunt to give the moves a veneer of legitimacy.

"This vote reinforces our commitment to continue sharing public space for pedestrians and to make Paris greener," Christophe Najdovski, deputy mayor in charge of green spaces, told AFP.

Referring to the low turnout, Nelly Garnier of the right-wing opposition said: "Parisians did not want to get involved in a PR campaign by the city hall."

Hidalgo, mayor since 2014 but who plans to step down in 2026 elections, has been acclaimed by supporters for squeezing traffic in the city centre but accused by opponents of failing to get to grips with day-to-day problems in the French capital.

Her latest moves to fight congestion and improve air quality in Paris have included limiting one lane of its notoriously busy ring road to car sharing during rush hours and reducing the speed limit on the highway.

But critics accuse her of merely shifting traffic and causing even heavier concentrations of cars elsewhere with bike schemes while also allowing security, cleanliness and public transport to deteriorate.

T.Samara--SF-PST