Strolling down the Champs Élysées, skateboarding by the Seine, bikes of all shapes and sizes, scooters and roller blades taking over the streets.  This was the first Journée Sans Voiture (car free day) in Paris.

……….

      

      

………

‘Car free’ applied to a large, central area of the city with cars ‘strongly discouraged’ and restricted to 20km per hour in the entire area within the Péripherique ring road.   It didn’t work perfectly.  Some motorists ignored the restrictions.  Some roads were a bit chaotic with cyclists weaving amongst packed pedestrians and buses (exempt from the restrictions) inching through the crowds.  But the sun shone and the streets filled with people enjoying the city from a different viewpoint.  It was a short term transformation but a taste of possibilities for the future.

………………

In response to The Daily Post’s weekly photo challenge: “Change.”