Paris to harm its middle class as only the wealthy can afford a parking space anymore.
Public transport in Paris is wonderful, and while there are parts where I still would rather not bike around, cyclist safety is getting much better too. The city is simply adapting to other modes of transport that are better for everyone.
Only someone who never lived in Paris more than two days could ever write this sentence. Paris’ subway is one of the worst in the world (often on strike, technical problems, stink piss, expensive, unsecure especially for ladies, no accessibility, etc.)
When I had choice to take sub for 40 min or walk 40 min to go to the same place, I took walking every time because of how bad public transportation are in Paris.
(There's also buses and bike shares, by the way.)
We probably don't have the same sense of wonderful. It's overcrowded, unsafe and the metro smells horrible.
Now yes, you can live there without owning a car, but I don't call that wonderful.
Having lived in 'walkable' European cities, I can vouch for them, and I think it benefits the vast majority of people living there.
I'm lucky enough to have a decent job in a fairly rural area and a cheap car that I can easily maintain. At one point I was even a car enthusiast that liked doing modifications. I still think society as a whole should be progressing towards a carless future. Although I'd appreciate it if VR tech was advanced enough to let me drive around in virtual classic cars by that point with feel and smell.
Transit isn’t the only issue.