Half of the cars in Paris were banned from driving on Monday in an attempt to clear up 'le smog'

The French word for smog is "le smog," which makes it simple for Google Translate, but it's a much more difficult problem for the city of Paris. On Monday, all cars with license plates that ended in even numbers were banned from driving into the French capital from 5:30 a.m. until midnight. Those cars were parked due to the city's seriously dirty air. According to Plume Labs, a company that monitors the air quality of sixty cities around the world, last Wednesday, Paris had worse air than any other place on the planet.

For almost a full day, Paris' air quality index was 125, right between the numbers for harmful (100) and critical (150), which put it above chronically unbreathable cities like New Delhi and Hong Kong. By contrast, on Monday night – after a day with an estimated 40% less traffic – Paris' index had fallen to 55; the city's annual average is 38.

Karine Leger, who measures air quality for a lab that works with Plume, told France24

We have pollution issues, but lots of other cities do too. Air quality in the French capital is generally better than a decade ago. It’s the wrong idea to compare a city at a certain moment when you have meteorological conditions that could make the pollution worse at that point.

Whether the improvement in the air quality was due to the even-numbered ban or because some much-needed rain was forecast for the city, the ban was not extended for a second day. According to France24, police officers issued more than 2,800 $24 fines to drivers who violated the ban, but they were also lenient with those who were legitimately confused (for example, drivers whose plates ended in a zero). That number was down from the 4,000-plus fines issued almost exactly a year ago, when Parisian drivers were banned for the exact same unbreathable reason.

Even though everyone might be back on the roads, the ban is a more extreme glimpse of Paris' future. By July, all cars and trucks that are more than 14 years old will no longer be allowed to drive in the city. By 2020, only cars manufactured within the previous nine years (2011 or later) and motorcycles that are less than five years old (made in 2015 or later) will be permitted on the capital's roads. The Drivers' Defense League says that Mayor Anne Hidalgo's legislation is "autophobic" and will render more than 3 million motor vehicles obsolete.

How do you say "autophobic" in French?