The mayor of Paris, Bertrand Delanoe, launched a proposition to the French government to ban old vehicles from the city to improve the air quality and reduce noise pollution. In his proposal, cars over 17-years old would not be allowed in Paris.

Trucks and buses more than 18 years old and motorcycles built before 2004 would also be banned. To help poorer residents of Paris to upgrade to newer vehicles, the Socialist Party mayor suggested a "cash-for-clunkers"-type program. If approved, the ban will take effect in the second half of 2014.

The proposal is part of a plan to cut air pollution in the city by 30% by 2015 and to turn Paris into a low-emission zone. French officials report about 43,000 annual death caused by poor air quality. Pierre Chasseray, a spokesman for a non-profit organization, commented that only 3% of the vehicles in France are above 17-years old and therefore the impact from the ban would not be great.

Other critics say that the plan should focus on cutting down the use of diesel fuels instead. Collectors of vintage and classic vehicles would not be happy with the proposal as well.

Other elements of the plan include reducing local speed limits from 80km/h to 70km/h and imposing a tax on heavy vehicles travelling in the city center. The reduction of speed limit does not really make sense to me as most cars would not be travelling at the highest gear ratio at 70km/h, which is no good for fuel efficiency. It seems like the only sensible suggestion is the tax on heavy vehicle.