The mayor of Paris, Bertrand Delanoe, is planning to cut pollution levels in the French capital by banning the use of cars more than 17 years old.
Motorcycles built before 2004 and buses and lorries over 18 years old would also be forbidden.
The ban would apply to all vehicles within the A86 motorway which circles the city and would come into force in September 2014.
However, the plans have attracted controversy from French motorists claiming that the proposals would exclude poorer drivers from entering Paris, turning it into an 'island for the rich'.
The plans are part of the mayor's efforts to turn Paris into a Low Emission Zone by 2015. Currently, air pollution is responsible for 43,000 deaths in France annually and is said to reduce the lifespan of the average Parisian by six months.
Critics of the scheme argue that it is not the age of the vehicles which is the major contributor to pollution but the French's love of diesel cars. Traditionally, diesel has always been cheaper than petrol in France and this, combined with the higher fuel efficiency of diesel engines, has fuelled diesel's popularity. Three out of every five cars in France runs on the stuff.
If we're honest, we don't really see the point. Currently, only 3 per cent of cars in Paris are over 17 years old and, of course, that figure will only reduce as time goes on.
Plus, one of the great things about going to Paris is getting the chance to see the locals whizzing around in ancient Renault 5s and Citroen 2CVs, and if the new plans are realised, we'd argue that the French capital would lose some of its character.
Most worryingly of all, however, is that this sounds worryingly like something our own Government might actually consider...
