"PARIS — Paris enjoyed a rare reprieve from traffic jams Monday as a draconian clampdown on cars, aimed at banishing stubborn levels of smog, took effect.

Only cars and motorcycles with registration numbers ending in an odd number were allowed onto the streets of the French capital on Monday. Close to 4,000 motorists with plates ending in an even number who slipped behind the wheel had received on the spot $30 fines by midday.

The measure was announced by the national government at the weekend as a way of trying to lift the cloud of particle pollution that has hung over the city for the past week, cloaking the Eiffel Tower and other monuments in a gray sheen."

Clare Byrne reports for the McClatchy Washington Bureau March 17, 2014. [2]

SEE ALSO:

"Paris Car Ban Stopped After One Day" (Guardian) [3]