Paris is offering free public transport through the weekend as a dome of pollution hung over the French capital, obscuring the Eiffel Tower.
With unseasonably warm weather, the air quality in Paris has drawn alerts. Air Parif, an association that tracks air quality, gave the region its top 10 pollution warning both Wednesday and Thursday.
“Considering the important health risks faced by people in the Ile-de-France region, I’ve decided, along with the government, to assure free transport in the Paris region as long as this spike in pollution lasts,” Jean-Paul Huchon, head of the Stif entity that manages transport in the area, said in a statement posted on the Paris mayor’s website.
The free transport offer covers buses, metros and RER suburban trains, as well as bicycle- and car-sharing schemes.
To encourage Parisians to leave their cars behind, the city is also offering free parking.
