Paris puts 420 junctions at the heart of its new cycling plan—and looks to London on lorry safety

Paris has put junctions near the top of its next cycling programme. Its €200 million plan for 2027–2032 includes safety changes at 420 junctions, with 56 scheduled for 2027, according to the city’s announcement updated on 14 October.

There is a direct British connection, too. Paris wants changes to French rules on heavy-lorry safety, drawing on Greater London’s permit scheme.

Beyond adding kilometres

The programme includes 140km of additional cycle routes. It also proposes changes to traffic-light phases so some cycling and motor-traffic movements can happen at different times.

The city states its ambition as atteindre zéro mort et zéro blessé grave sur la route—in English, “zero deaths and zero serious injuries on the road”. That is a goal, rather than a claim that the danger has already been removed.

Some projects need police-prefecture approval. The programme therefore sets out work to be delivered over several years, not a network visitors can expect to find completed now.

Why London appears in the plan

London’s Direct Vision Standard [a rating of how much a lorry driver can see directly through the cab windows] is part of its heavy-goods-vehicle safety-permit system. TfL’s operator guidance says lorries over 12 tonnes entering Greater London require a permit, subject to exemptions. Vehicles below the minimum direct-vision rating need additional safety equipment.

Paris’s call to learn from that approach is a policy proposal. It does not mean London’s rules have been adopted in France.

The distinction matters for UK readers following the debate: Paris is looking at both the streets people ride on and the vehicles moving beside them. For anyone planning a Paris trip, current route information still matters; the new programme starts in 2027.

Paris’s new cycling plan · TfL’s lorry-safety operator guidance · Plan a cycling trip