Summary
2 September 2009
A dispute between two mayors in Paris has brought traffic chaos to the city. Confused motorists didn't know which way to turn when they saw two different one-way system signs.
Reporter:
Alasdair Sandford
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Commuters had a nasty surprise on Monday when they found one of the main routes into the French capital was blocked. Drivers heading the other way were confronted with "no entry" signs in all directions. For two days there was chaos among bemused drivers at the point where the two rival systems converged, with all traffic forced down one side road.
Vox pops: "It's a real mess now for a lot of people who are forced to go by car to their work and go back to their home by car."
"It's difficult to go to work. We lost between 15 or 20 minutes, per day."
The confusion followed a decision by the mayor of Levallois Patrick Balkany, from France's ruling right-wing party. He wanted to introduce a one-way system to free up traffic through his borough.
Fearing an overspill into his district, the mayor of Clichy Gilles Catoire, a socialist, brought in a one-way system running the other way. The local prefect, representing the French state, has issued a decree ordering the immediate return of two-way traffic in Clichy, accusing its mayor of provoking serious disorder. Mr Catoire is refusing to back down, saying he'll challenge the decision in court.
Alasdair Sandford, 大象传媒 News, Paris
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Vocabulary
- commuters
people who travel from their homes to work (usually in a city) every working day
- was blocked
here, traffic wasn't able to move
- heading the other way
driving in the opposite direction
- chaos among bemused drivers
disorder among the drivers who were confused
- rival systems converged
different and competing ways of doing things (here, ways of controlling and moving traffic) came together
- forced down one side road
had to go down a small road (one that's usually not suitable for a lot of traffic)
- overspill
here, the extra traffic, caused by the first one-way system, from Levallois, coming into Clichy
- issued a decree
sent out an official ruling
- provoking serious disorder
here, making drivers confused and causing serious traffic problems
- back down
admit that he is wrong
