Paris and its suburbs are well known for its saturated roads and its non-stop traffic jams. And everybody agrees that there should be fewer cars, but of course nobody wants to stop using their own car. Following the same logic, two Parisian mayors created a small chaos in their localities.
When the conservative mayor of Levallois-Perret, initially made the D909 one-way to reduce the amount of commuter traffic through his district, the Socialist mayor of neighbouring Clichy-la-Garenne made his section of the road one-way in the opposite direction. Both of them were arguing that the road was increasing congestion in their own area. This is right, as more than thousands of motorists pass between the two suburbs each day on their way into and out of the French capital.
With the contradictory road-signs in place, the unsurprising result was gridlock, prompting the deployment of municipal and national police to direct traffic away from the area. The opening of a new shopping mall stimulated the decision of the mayor of Levallois-Perret. The one-way road of Clichy-la-Garenne was declared illegal, but the legal fight keeps on going for the pleasure of car drivers.
