Two Paris mayors,belonging to neighbouring suburbs,are said to have taken their feud to the streets by declaring the same road one-way,but in opposite directions. Patrick Balkany,the conservative mayor of Levallois-Perret,northwest of Paris,made the D909 one-way to cut the commuter traffic flowing through his district on August 31. But Gilles Catoire,the Socialist mayor of neighbouring Clichy-la-Garenne,complained that Balkanys move increased congestion in his area,and thus he declared his section of the road one-way,but in the opposite direction. With the contradictory road-signs in place,the unsurprising result was commuter chaos,road rage and gridlock. Municipal and national police were called in to direct traffic away from the area. What Clichy has done is not a long-term solution,but it is a response to a unilateral decision by the town of Levallois, the Telegraph quoted Clichys deputy mayor,Alain Fournier,as saying. But Balkany insisted: The mayor of Clichy has taken a position that is unreasonable and is hurting his own constituents. In a Solomonesque ruling yesterday,the Governor,or prefect,of the Hauts-de-Seine department decided that Balkany was in the right. Patrick Strzoda said that Levallois plan was coherent,and a study showed that there would be no notable rise in traffic in neighbouring towns. Clichys decision,however,was done without any prior study,and had caused serious disorder that threatened drivers safety. He ordered Clichy to make its part of the road two-way. The row may still not be over,as Clichys mayor has promised to appeal the decision.
