Pope’s visit to Paris on 25 September: roads closed across 4 arrondissements
On Friday 25 September, driving through several neighbourhoods on the Left Bank could turn into a real headache. The Pope’s visit to Paris is bringing road closures and parking bans across the 5th, 6th, 7th and 15th arrondissements, with restrictions spread throughout the entire day. It’s worth knowing the details before getting behind the wheel.
What León XIV’s papamobile route means for drivers
The papamobile procession between Notre-Dame-des-Champs and place Saint-Michel is the stretch generating the widest and longest disruptions. From 6am until 8pm, traffic will be prohibited across the entire security perimeter set up along this route. In practice, several major arteries on the Left Bank will be off-limits to vehicles for fourteen consecutive hours.
The affected roads include boulevard du Montparnasse, avenue de l’Observatoire, boulevard Saint-Michel, place Saint-Michel and boulevard du Palais. These are key transit routes through the 5th and 6th arrondissements. On top of that, a reinforced security perimeter will be active from 10am to 8pm, tightening movement in the area even further.
On the parking front, bans kick in the day before: from Thursday 24 September at 11am, leaving a vehicle anywhere within the procession perimeter will not be permitted, right through to Friday 25 September at 8pm. Anyone who has already parked in these streets will need to move their car before that deadline.
Around UNESCO and Les Invalides, restrictions in two waves
In the 7th arrondissement, the Pope’s visit to Paris brings a separate set of measures, rolled out in two successive waves. The first applies from 1pm to 6pm and covers a wide perimeter around UNESCO. Several roads will be closed to all motorised vehicles during this window.
- Avenue de Suffren, between place Joffre and boulevard Garibaldi
- Avenue de Lowendal, between avenue de Suffren and avenue Duquesne
- Avenue de Ségur, between avenue de Suffren and avenue Duquesne
- Avenue de Saxe, between avenue de Lowendal and place de Breteuil
- Rue José-Maria-de-Heredia, rue Pérignon, rue Albert-de-Lapparent and rue Léon-Vaudoyer
In the 15th arrondissement, several streets bordering the 7th are also closed from 1pm to 6pm: rue Bouchut, rue César-Franck, rue Valentin-Haüy, rue Bellart, rue Rosa-Bonheur and rue Barthélémy. These closures are a direct result of their proximity to the security cordon deployed around UNESCO.
The second wave concerns the area around Les Invalides and runs from 2:30pm to 4:30pm. This tighter perimeter includes boulevard des Invalides, avenue de Tourville, place Vauban, avenue de Villars, avenue de Breteuil and rue de Sèvres between rue Rousselet and rue Maurice-de-la-Sizeranne. Additional streets, rue Bixio, rue Eblé, rue Oudinot, rue Duroc, avenue Constant-Coquelin and avenue Daniel-Lesueur, round out the device.
Parking banned from Thursday evening in the 7th
For the areas around UNESCO and Les Invalides, there are two parking ban windows to keep in mind. First, from Thursday 24 September at 11am to Friday 25 September at 4:30pm, parking will be prohibited on boulevard des Invalides, avenue de Tourville, place Vauban, avenue de Ségur, avenue de Villars, avenue de Breteuil, rue d’Estrées, place du Président-Mithouard, avenue de Lowendal and rue Bixio, on the sections covered by the security plan.
Then, from Thursday 24 September at 10pm to Friday 25 September at 6pm, the ban extends to avenue de Suffren, avenue de Lowendal, rue d’Estrées and avenue de Ségur, on the sections around UNESCO. These two windows overlap partially, meaning some roads will be subject to parking restrictions for more than thirty consecutive hours.
The full timeline so you don’t miss a thing
For drivers who absolutely need to get around these arrondissements during the Pope’s visit to Paris, here are the key moments to keep in mind. The first parking bans begin as early as 24 September at 11am. The following morning, from 6am, traffic restrictions activate around the papamobile route. The reinforced security perimeter comes into effect at 10am.
In the afternoon, closures around UNESCO and the neighbouring streets in the 15th apply from 1pm to 6pm. A second, more targeted perimeter locks down around Les Invalides from 2:30pm to 4:30pm. Finally, the main measures tied to the papamobile route lift at 8pm. For this day of the Pope’s visit to Paris, public transport remains the most reliable way to get around these areas.
