PARIS, Sept 22 (AFP) - Grass sprouted in a central Paris square, politicians took to their bikes and others to their horses on Wednesday as more than 160 cities and towns in three countries staged a "car-free day" to fight the tyranny of the auto.
French Environment Minister Dominique Voynet, a Green, led a parade of cycle-borne ministers as they headed for a weekly cabinet meeting at the presidential Elysee Palace in central Paris. Prime Minister Lionel Jospin chose a more dignified form of transport -- an electric car.
Other Parisians took the metro (US subway) or bus or donned rollerskates to skim through the centre of the capital, which was closed off to private cars from 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. (0500 to 1900 GMT).
Four districts of Paris -- the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th arrondissements -- as well as the Latin Quarter on the Left Bank and the tourist haunts of Montmartre and La Villette were officially barred, although the odd car could be seen.
Only buses, taxis, emergency vehicles, pedestrians and bikes, as well as "clean" cars powered by propane or electricity, were admitted into the sealed area, where 200,000 people live.
The giant Place de la Concorde square, close to where French royals were guillotined during the Revolution, was transformed into a car-free zone.
Cyclists were astonished to find that the edges of the square had been covered with turf, which was unrolled by municipal workers overnight to provide a green touch.
"It's an excellent idea," said Christian Leborgne, 42, a company director. "It should be like this every day. I hope this will improve the quality of the air, the noise, freedom of movement for pedestrians and cyclists. We can get our city back."
Shopkeepers, however, were sullen at the loss of passing trade.
"It's stupid," said Patrice Syda, 38, who runs a photocopy shop. "I get the impression that Mrs. Voynet doesn't understand that people have to work during the week and often it's easier to go by car rather than cycle in the rain. The car's essential these days."
At the Paris stock exchange, two fine horses were hitched up to the black-painted gates, apparently "parked" there by a couple of equine-loving commuters.
France launched the anti-car day last year after Paris suffered a series of pollution alerts caused by traffic-choked streets.
The initiative began with 35 towns last year and doubled to 66 this year. Joining the initiative were 92 cities and towns in Italy, including Florence, Turin, Genoa, Rome and Naples, as well as the Swiss city of Geneva and surrounding towns.
In all, more than 22 million people were affected.
Italian ecologists generally welcomed the idea but complained that in many cases, towns had made only token gestures.
Four streets in the centre of Rome were barred from the end of the morning rush-hour to late at night, and public transport was free.
Carbon monoxide levels measured by the environment ministry in Rome's pedestrian area showed a fall of up to 30 percent from Tuesday, and noise levels fell up to 12 decibels.
The new mayor of Bologna, Giorgio Guazzaloca, on Tuesday attacked the initiative as "a symbolic action without real effectiveness which is penalising residents," while Rome opposition leader Antonio Augello described the operation as a "total propaganda exercise."
Voynet hopes the European Union will pick up the initiative next year and spread it across the 15 EU states.
"The idea is not to punish people who use their cars but to encourage them to ask questions," Voynet said in remarks published Wednesday by the daily Le Parisien.
In Brussels, the president of the European Commission, Romano Prodi, flanked by Environment Commissioner Margot Wallstroem and Belgian Transport Minister Isabelle Durant, took their bikes for a spin in a local park to show their support for the initiative.