法国首都巴黎过去一周来遭遇雾霾困扰，总理府下令17日起实施机动车尾号单双数限行措施。当天，大约700名警察部署街头执法，对违令者开出罚单。
这是法国自1997年来首次实施机动车尾号单双数限行措施。当年10月，法国实行过一次限行，效果明显，但因不得人心，这一措施后未再实施。初步数据显示，17日早高峰时段拥堵情况比以往减少60%。政府将评估污染物状况，于17日晚些时候决定是否继续限行。如果限行18日继续，尾号为单数的机动车将不能上路。环境部长马丁呼吁公众理解。
Air pollution refuses to dissolve in France, forcing the government to introduce alternate drivingdays in France’s capital, where pollution levels are on a level comparable with the world’s mostnotoriously smoggy cities such as Beijing and Delhi.
Not just the capital Paris, but all of France has been under pollution alert of various scales for thelast five days. The government confirmed that pollution particulates in the air exceeded safe levelsin the capital and surrounding areas, with a negative forecast for Sunday evening.
Paris authorities made their first move on Saturday, making all public transport in the capital free topersuade citizens to leave personal vehicles at home.
But pollution levels have fallen only slightly, so the authorities opted for further restrictions for thefirst time since 1997. On Monday, cars and motorbikes with uneven numbered plates only will beallowed to drive on Paris streets.
埃菲尔铁塔“依稀”可见
Other measures to fight the pollution include restrictions on speed and on burning fuel and theauthorities are already considering further “sanctions” against outraged drivers.“This measure is worse than unfair, it is stupid,” Pierre Chasseray, head of a drivers' associationcalled 40 Millions d'Automobilistes, told AFP.“I am amazed to see that a small lobby has managed to convince people that cars were behind thispeak in pollution,” Chasseray said.The official explanation of the ecological disaster is that a combination of cold nights and warmdays has prevented pollution from dispersing.On Friday the level of air pollution particles in Paris hit the maximum of 180 micrograms per cubicmeter, doubly the allowed 80 per cubic meter standard of the so-called PM10 pollution particlescreated by heavy industry and vehicles.The pollution particles in the air could cause respiratory problems, such as asthma attacks, as wellas lung cancer and even cardiac disorders, according to the World Health Organization.Valentin Foltescu, air quality manager at the European Environment Agency, told AP that “there isa high correlation of pollution of this kind and mortality,” warning that the immediate health hazardis especially high for the very young and old.The critical situation with air pollution in Europe has continued for days now as a belt of smogstretched for hundreds of kilometers, from France's Atlantic coast through Belgium and right intothe territory of Germany, AP reports. The European Environment Agency says this is the worst airpollution in France since 2007.
