Hell is driving in Paris

The latest move in Anne Hidalgo’s war on cars has left Paris motorists teetering on the edge of despair. Last week, the city’s left-wing mayor reduced the speed limit on the Périphérique, Paris’s critical eight-lane motorway, to a crawl-inducing 30 mph. For the thousands of suburban commuters who rely on it, it’s made the daily grind unbearable, cementing Hidalgo’s disdain for anyone daring to drive in the capital. And just to make life even harder, she’s banned diesel sales near the ring road. London motorists better hope Sadiq Khan doesn’t steal any of Hidalgo’s latest ideas for his own crusade against cars.

Driving through Paris now feels like being trapped in an endless traffic maze. Once manageable commutes have turned into soul-crushing marathons. Streets in central Paris have been deliberately reconfigured into confusing labyrinths to block through traffic, while the Périphérique, which used to be a lifeline, moves at a snail’s pace.