text: In Paris, it was so smoggy that they had to ban the use of vehicles for an entire weekend, one day even license plates would be banned, the next day odd. If you were caught driving with a banned license plate you would be fined, and approximately 4,000 people were fined on that weekend, 27 people's cars were impounded. This was all part of an attempt to clear the 147 micrograms of particulate matter per cubic meter that was congesting the air. Compared to London with 79.7. Public transit however was free during this time, and hybrid cars, electric cars, and cars with 3 or more passengers were allowed.