text: Next, After days of near-record pollution , paris enforcd a partial driving ban to clear th air of the global city. Motorists with even-numbered license plates were ordered to leve their cars at home or suffer a 22-euro fine ($31). The same would apply to the odd-numbered plate sthe following day. Almost 4,000 drivers were fined according to the international news agency(Reuters). Congestion was down 60 percent in the capital of France ,after five -days of intsensifying somg. Diesel fuel was blammed, since France has a tax policy theat favors diesel over gasoline. Paris typically ahs more smog than other European capitals. Las week Paris had 147 microgramsof particulate matter. Public transit was free of charge from Friday to Monday. The somg cleared enough Monday for the ruling French party rescined the ban for odd-numbered plates on tuesday.