New regulations will come into force later this year that will result in older vehicles being banned from central Paris.
The new legislation – which comes into effect in July – is an attempt to improve air quality in the capital that will initially target coaches, buses and lorries registered before 30 September 2001. From July this year, these vehicles will be unable to enter the city centre from 8am-8pm, though they will still be able to use the Pérphérique.
The 8am-8pm ban is expected to be extended by July 2016 to include all cars registered before 31 December 1996.
The government's ultimate aim is to ban any diesel vehicles registered before 2011 and motorcycles produced before 2015 within the space of five years.
A mass demonstration against the plans has already taken place, with opposition groups suggesting that as many as three million cars could be scrapped over the next three years.
