海角大神

Ring, ring! It鈥檚 rush hour on Paris鈥� S茅bastopol Boulevard, and the congestion is severe 鈥� not just gas-guzzling, pollution-spewing, horn-honking snarls but also quieter and greener bottlenecks of cyclists jockeying for space.

Until four years ago, motorists largely had the Paris thoroughfare to themselves. Now, its bike-lane jams speak to a cycling revolution聽that is reshaping the capital of France 鈥� long a country of car-lovers, home to Renault, Citroen, and Peugeot.

This revolution, like others, is also proving choppy. A nearly decade-long drive by Socialist Mayor Anne Hidalgo to turn Paris from a city hostile for cyclists 鈥� except those racing the Tour de France 鈥撀爄nto one where they venture more safely and freely has become so transformative that bikes are steadily muscling aside motor vehicles and increasingly getting in each other鈥檚 way. And more bike lanes are coming for next year鈥檚 Paris Olympics 鈥撀爌art of an effort to halve the event鈥檚 carbon footprint.

Already, on some Paris boulevards, bikes outnumber cars at peak times. Cycle congestion, with wheel-to-wheel lines of riders ringing their bells and sometimes losing their cool, is becoming a challenge.

鈥淚t鈥檚 the same feeling as the one I had when I was younger, with my parents driving their car, and it was like traffic jams all over the place. So now it鈥檚 really a bike traffic jam,鈥� said Thibault Qu茅r茅, a spokesperson for the Federation of Bicycle Users. 鈥淏ut it鈥檚 kind of a good difficulty to have. Especially when we think about what Paris used to be.鈥�

From a measly 200 kilometers (125 miles)聽in 2001, cyclists now have more than 1,000 (620 miles)聽of tailor-made bike paths and marked routes to roam, City Hall says. Motor vehicles have been barred entirely from some roads, most notably a River Seine embankment that used to be a busy highway. It鈥檚 become a central Paris haven for cyclists, runners, families, and romantics since Mayor Hidalgo closed it to motor traffic in 2016.

Farther north, the twin-lane bike path on S茅bastopol Boulevard has become one of Europe鈥檚 busiest since its inauguration in 2019. It saw a record 124,000 weekly users in early September, according to tracking by pro-bike group Paris en Selle (鈥淧aris by saddle鈥�). Traffic there now regularly surpasses London鈥檚 busiest cycleways and at its busiest even approaches the numbers of popular cycle routes in Amsterdam.

North-south S茅bastopol empties into another busy east-west route on Rue de Rivoli that passes the Louvre. It also saw record daily and weekly numbers in September, Paris en Selle鈥檚 tracking shows.

Add to the mix none-too-thrilled motorists, scooters wriggling through traffic, pedestrians trying not to get squished and construction that seems to have popped up almost everywhere in Paris鈥� sprint to the Olympics, and negotiating the busiest streets by bike can feel akin to playing Mario Kart 鈥� but with real-life dangers and consequences.

Many cyclists, some clearly new and still feeling their way around, seem to think red lights and road rules don鈥檛 apply to them. Paris鈥� removal of for-hire electric scooters聽following a city referendum聽in April also is driving some ex-users to biking.

鈥淧aris has become unlivable. No one can stand each other,鈥� bike-rider Michel Gelernt said as he wound his way past whistle-blowing traffic officers and yelling motorists on Concorde plaza, the French Revolution decapitation site of King Louis XVI in 1793.

A former motor-scooter and public-transport user, the retiree switched to cycling during the COVID-19 pandemic聽and has kept the habit. He uses Velib鈥� 鈥� Paris鈥� bike-sharing system, in its 16th year 鈥� to get around for 80% of his trips.

鈥淓veryone behaves selfishly,鈥� grumbled Mr. Gelernt. 鈥淭he traffic is a lot worse than it was.鈥�

That said, he and others can鈥檛 dispute that flows of bikes are better for health and the environment than the noxious pollution that still often blankets Paris. France鈥檚 government blames atmospheric pollution for 48,000 premature deaths nationwide per year.

In a landmark decision, a Paris court in June awarded 5,000 euros ($5,300)聽in compensation to two families with children who were sickened by air pollution, suffering from asthma and other health issues when they lived near the capital鈥檚 car-choked ring road. The court ruled the French state was at fault.

Mayor Hidalgo cites pollution as a prime motivation for her drive to increase bike use, squeeze out emission-spewing vehicles, and make 鈥渁 Paris that breathes.鈥� Re-elected in 2020, her second five-year 鈥淏ike Plan鈥� budgets 250 million euros ($260 million) in additional investments by 2026. That鈥檚 100 million euros more than on her first-term bike plan. Most of it is earmarked for more cycle routes and parking.

City Hall says all Olympic venues in the city will be bike-accessible for the July 26-August 11 Paris Games, on a nearly 60-kilometer (nearly 40-mile)聽cycle network.

So Olympic fans will be able to discover what growing numbers of Parisians are learning: Experiencing the city by bike can rekindle love for its charms.

Behind busy thoroughfares are countless quieter streets that embrace cyclists with sights, sounds, and smells that are too easily missed by car. And for a start-the-day jolt to energize the senses without over-priced espresso, try bouncing along the cobblestones of the Champs-Elys茅es on any crisp morning.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a feeling of freedom, rather than being in the Metro, sitting down, or in the heat,鈥� said Ange Gadou, a convert who previously relied on rental e-scooters before Paris banished them.

鈥淭here鈥檚 nothing about it I don鈥檛 like.鈥�

This story was reported by The Associated Press.聽AP writer Alex Turnbull contributed.