Attention: Driving bans in France
Due to increased air pollution, advance warnings have been declared in more than 21 departments. In the north, in Lille, even driving bans are active. Other cities and areas could follow if levels remain high.
A week ago, another large dust cloud moved north from the Sahara. At that time, Spain was particularly affected, but the sky also turned reddish-yellow in many places in northern Europe. After a week, the cloud has not dissipated and dispersed, but winds have added new particles to it, which are now moving across the Bay of Biscay and the English Channel and hitting land in France.
This time, the increased air pollution is present in no fewer than 21 departments, mainly in the west and north. However, there are not environmental zones in all the departments, and advance warnings are being issued to address the behaviour of the population. At the moment, however, only the northern French department of Nord is affected by driving bans: There, and especially in the capital Lille, trucks, buses, cars and vans without stickers and with sticker 5 have been exempted from traffic. Cars and vans have been hit even harder: even vehicles with a 4 sticker are not allowed to drive here. Motorised two- and three-wheelers are not affected by the driving bans. In addition, the driving bans do not apply to vehicles carrying more people than the driver. In addition, the metro, tram and bus will be free of charge for the period of restricted driving.
The driving bans in Lille came into force at 6am this morning and will be in force until midnight. However, it is likely that the driving bans will be extended as the Saharan dust will not clear throughout the weekend. This means that there could well be driving bans in other departments. You can find out in which departments and cities advance warnings remain in place and where there are further driving bans in our Green-Zones app!