Activists parade in Strasbourg to raise awareness of air pollution in France

Wearing breathing masks and waving placards, the Ecologists and Greens of Alsace held a demonstration here late on Thursday in order to raise awareness about the deadly cost of air pollution in France.

Their mouths covered, the protestors walked down the center island of the busy and highly polluted Boulevard du President Wilson of Strasbourg, a city where air pollution comes principally from automobile circulation. Their signs showed slogans such as "Air pollution = 50,000 deaths" and "today: pollution spike, tomorrow: car sharing, bicycles and public transport!"

According to the political group's website, the demonstrators wore masks because "it would soon be necessary if nothing is done to improve air quality," and chose to parade down a major road in order to spread their message to motorists and public authorities.

"There have been 39 days where pollution has passed safe limits in Strasbourg, and yet the cars go on driving," declared Meike Westerhaus, a co-organizer of activities for the Ecologists, at the demonstration.

Among other remedies, the group called for a "dense and extensive" public transport system. They noted that Strasbourg's tram system was a huge success, and should be expanded.

Thursday's air quality in Strasbourg was rated as average, but ASPA, the group created by local authorities in 1977 and launched in 1980 to monitor air pollution in Alsace, has issued pollution warnings for Friday.

The demonstration also comes after Paris was forced to ban half of the car traffic in the city on March 23 due to dangerous levels of PM10 particulates. The French capital used similar measures in 2014 to help curb spikes in air pollution.

More recently, France has received a pessimistic report on air pollution commissioned by the French Senate and made public on July 15. Underlining a dire need for change, the report estimates that air pollution in France has an economic cost of between 68 and 97 billion euros per year.

According to the World Health Organization, air pollution cost France 2.3 percent of the its GDP in 2010 by exasperating respiratory conditions, contributing to cancer rates, and leading to nearly 17,000 premature deaths due to related conditions.

Even with the discouraging figures, Thursday's demonstration organizers were only able to gather a very small number of participants during the August holidays. Endit