To fight air pollution, Paris is giving residents free parking for one day

Leave your car behind. (EPA/Ian Langsdon)
Leave your car behind. (EPA/Ian Langsdon)
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Air pollution is getting so bad in Paris that the city tomorrow will allow free street parking for local residents.

Airparif, an organization monitoring Paris air quality, forecasts the city’s smog to reach level seven (out of a peak of 10) on Dec. 29.  In early December, the French city alternatively banned cars carrying odd or even number plates for three days, when smog levels reached a 10-year high.

To get free parking tomorrow, people who hold a resident’s parking card can obtain a sticker from the mayor’s office that will exempt them from paying parking fees if it’s displayed on a car windshield. A parking space usually costs 1.5 euros ($1.56) per day for parking card holders who live in the city.

The city’s car and bike sharing systems will also be made freely available to encourage the use of public transport.