It's a tough break for drivers who are just coming back from vacation or those who were gearing up for a peaceful return to work. Since Monday, August 18, 2025, a very busy boulevard in the 11th arrondissement is officially and permanently closed to traffic.
A zone that’s much too congested and full of "dysfunctions"
For regulars of the Richard-Lenoir Boulevard, it's time to change routes and take a detour through Chemin-Vert Street. Starting August 18, there will be a permanent closure between Saint-Sabin Street and Pasteur-Wagner Street. This means 160 meters of roadway heading towards the Bastille Square will no longer be accessible to drivers.
The goal of such a measure is to decongest...
rger both the Chemin-Vert street and the Richard-Lenoir boulevard, making it easier to access the Place de la Bastille. "We noticed many dysfunctions. The traffic was saturated, making it difficult for market workers and those ensuring its cleanliness... Many two-wheelers were weaving through the crowd, and we've already had some accidents," notes Luc Lebon, the deputy mayor in the 11th arrondissement, to the Parisien.Numerous improvements gradually implemented
This route was already regularly closed to traffic when the market took place on Thursdays and Sundays.
À partir de 2022, an experimental phase was set up where this same stretch of road was closed two days a week to ease traffic.Now, « the traffic direction will be reversed between Avenue Parmentier and Boulevard de Ménilmontant », while « cyclists will be allowed to ride in both directions », the deputy mayor states. Eventually, the idea is to turn this space into a pedestrian area. What about the Rambla project that Anne Hidalgo hoped for? For now, it is facing legal limitations that prevent it from seeing the light of day.
