A pedestrian zone to be created along the Seine in Paris

Mayor Anne Hidalgo is pushing for the transformation of 3.3 kilometers (2 miles) of highway along the Seine into a pedestrian zone against the famous backdrop of central Paris.

What may sound like a dream for tourists might well become a nightmare for drivers. As many as 43,000 cars per day will have to find other routes though the French capital. The Socialist Party calls it "taking back the banks of the Seine." The Paris city council is to vote on the proposal on September 26. A majority is expected to back Hidalgo's plan.

There have already been many trial runs for the new pedestrian zone on the Seine's right bank: for a few weeks every summer, this stretch is closed to traffic for the event "Paris Plages," or Paris Beaches. Salsa rhythms echo across the Seine as Parisians sip aperitifs on converted wooden palettes beside the bar ship. A few meters farther on, a family plays at boules, and teenagers lounge in beach chairs.

The section of road along the Seine's left bank was closed in 2013. In an interview with broadcaster French Inter, Hidalgo insisted that both traffic and air pollution had decreased as a result. Altogether, 5.5 million euros ($6 million) were earmarked to re-landscape the former highway.

Hidalgo's policies of limiting space for cars while encouraging use of public transportation and bicycles are in keeping with current trends. "All the world's cities are moving in the same direction. And I don't want to see Paris lagging behind."