Boulevard Périphérique (French pronunciation: [bulvaʁ peʁifeʁik]) is a controlled-access dual-carriageway ring road in Paris, France. One of the busiest highways in Europe, the Périphérique is the generally-accepted boundary between the city proper of Paris and its suburbs. Save for a few exceptions (see Structure and Layout), it is situated along Paris's administrative limit.
The speed limit is 80 km/h (50 mph). Each ring, or loop, generally provides four traffic lanes, and does not feature a hard shoulder. Due to the road's legal status, circulating traffic yields priority to entering vehicles.
When traveling at the legal speed limit, it takes around 26 minutes to complete a full circuit.
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Construction of the Périphérique was begun in 1958 on the former site of the Thiers Wall (the last remaining of the City walls of Paris). Destruction of this obsolete structure in the 1920s left a clear ring of vacant land surrounding Paris, which at first was claimed by slums and squatters. In order to alleviate traffic congestion, the Boulevard was planned along this abandoned land, and completed on 25 April 1973 under the presidency of Georges Pompidou. Providing a route for a quarter of all Parisian traffic movements, it quickly became the busiest road in France. However it became a victim of its own success with widespread congestion, while the dense urban area surrounding it prevents its expansion.
Noise reducing covers for the Périphérique are included in the 2000-2006 State-region Plan for three sections: Porte des Lilas, Porte de Vanves and the section from Porte des Ternes to Porte de Champerret. To date, the covers of Porte des Lilas and Porte de Vanves are complete but construction for Porte de Champerret has not yet begun.
The Périphérique consists of two concentric carriageways: the intérieur ("inner ring") and the extérieur ("outer ring"). Vehicles travel clockwise on the inner ring and anticlockwise on the outer ring. Some stretches of the road are sometimes referred to by cardinal direction. For example, in the southern half of the highway, the "inner ring" is designated as the Périphérique Ouest ("Western Ring") as traffic flows westbound whereas the "outer ring" is designated as the Périphérique Est ("Eastern Ring") as traffic flows eastbound. In the northern half, these designations are reversed, respectively as the highway is circular.
The structure of the Boulevard Périphérique is similar to most French autoroutes, U.K. and Commonwealth nation motorways, and North American freeways in the following regards:
The Boulevard Périphérique also retains some peculiar differences:
There are generally four lanes in each of the two rings of the Boulevard. Notable variations exist:
The full circuit of the Boulevard Périphérique measures a total of 35.04 kilometres, as measured along the central reservation. The route closely follows the municipal boundaries of Paris. It diverges at three locations; in the sectors of the Bois de Boulogne and the Bois de Vincennes (where the roadway is entrenched and covered), and the Heliport of Paris. Because the Boulevard was built over the old Thiers Wall, its entrance/exit ramps and interchanges coincide with the city gates, or "portes" (French) in that wall. The road crosses the River Seine via bridges upstream at Charenton/Bercy and downstream at Saint-Cloud/Issy.
Small distance markers are distributed evenly alongside the roadway:
The roadway varies in elevation with its surroundings:
The Boulevard Périphérique can carry the heaviest vehicles allowed by French regulations. However, there is a height restriction of 4.75 metres.
The Boulevard Périphérique is considered a boulevard, but there are several differences between it and classic Parisian boulevards: the Périphérique is a dual carriageway with on-ramps and off-ramps instead of at-grade junctions. Although it may look like a highway, traffic on the Périphérique are bound by municipal road rules. In particular traffic entering the boulevard have the right-of-way over vehicle traveling on the boulevard, contrary to the usual practice on highways.
The reasons behind this yielding system are poorly understood. However, several factors can explain this decision:
In practice though, entering traffic often merge with circulating traffic under the rules of zip merging. This unwritten rule is also found on other congested roads. There have been efforts in codifying this unwritten rule but no action has been undertaken.
In exception to the French road code the speed limit is 80 km/h on most parts of the boulevard. In addition, there are no shoulder on most of the boulevard, which means that accidents can cause considerable disruption to the traffic. Because of this emergency services also have difficulty getting to the scene of the accident. Bicycles are strictly prohibited on the boulevard.
When the boulevard is congested (as it normally is during the day), motorcyclists often use a technique called "back-file" : they move between the cars inner two lanes. This practice has been nicknamed "The way of donors" (to allude to organ donors) to reflect the danger of this practice. It is neither allowed nor prohibited by the French road code. Tolerated in most cases, it is now more severely punished by the law enforcement.
However, fatalities in the Périphérique are rare (none in 2005 as compared to 10 to 15 per year in the 1990s), compared to its large traffic count (50% of Paris traffic). A plausible reason for this is that due to its congestion the traffic moves relatively slowly, and therefore accidents are usually lesser-impact.
The Boulevard Périphérique is equipped with speed cameras to enforce the 80 km/h (50 mph) speed limit. The cameras are oriented to photograph the vehicle from behind, and are reportedly installed[1]:
On the inner ring at:
On the outer ring at:
In addition, the Boulevard Périphérique's exit ramps are often monitored with hand-held binocular-type radar devices; these are triggered when the 50 km/h (31 mph) exiting limit is exceeded.
Finally, during the rush hours, radar-equipped police vehicles are stationed in hidden areas for spot checks.
About a hundred traffic cameras are installed on the boulevard and are directly connected to the control room of the Périphérique traffic management office. 166 emergency telephones are found every 500 meters along the boulevard (every 250 meters underground) which relay 7,000 calls per year. The emergency phones are all numbered, with odd numbered phones on the outer ring and even numbered phones on the inner ring road.
Eight police vehicles during the day and four at night patrol the boulevard constantly.
750 sensors embedded in the road surface record each passing vehicle. These sensors can measure the flow rate, the occupancy rate and velocity of traffic on a given portion.
Variable-message signs on the boulevard provide information on journey times, which are automatically generated every minute by a computer system using data collected by the sensors. This system provides information on the average journey time to the next major exit. These signs are also used to display general messages such as accident, crash, road closure, road works etc.
The Boulevard Périphérique is not the only means of bypassing the interior of the French capital:
The Peripherique has been heavily criticised for its role as a barrier between Paris and the suburbs. Insofar as its route coincides almost entirely with the city limits of Paris, it can be seen as a "frontier", symbolizing a rift in the sociological economic and cultural cooperation between Paris and its suburbs. Suburbanites sometimes feel stigmatized. This psychological barrier is reflected for example in the phrase, "the other side of the ring road", sometimes used to designate the suburbs; this is similar to Londoners referring to the rest of the country (UK) as "outside the M25", or Americans referring to being 'beyond the beltway', meaning the rest of the USA outside Washington.
In recent years, governments have taken into account this negative impact and tried to remedy it: there have been discussions about projects to create green spaces and walkways to re-establish continuity between Paris and its suburbs.
The Boulevard is also a subject of fascination in that it is the busiest in France, and it operates as a closed universe. It has its own service stations, specific points of entry and exit, etc. The road is also considered dangerous to some users, especially drivers of motorcycles and scooters.
| Junction number | Junction name | Outer lanes exits | Inner lanes exits |
| 1 | Porte de Bercy | A4 | Quai de Bercy |
| 2 | Porte d'Ivry | None | Avenue d'Ivry |
| 3 | Porte d' Italie | A6B | Avenue d'Italie |
| 4 | Porte de Gentilly | A6A | Rue de l'Amiral Mouchez |
| 5 | Porte d'Orléans | Avenue Briand | Avenue de Maine |
| 6 | Porte de Châtillon | Avenue P. Brossollette | Avenue Jean Moulin |
| 7 | Porte de Vanves | Rue Ernest Reugan | Boulevard Brune |
| 8 | Porte Brancion | Rue Jean Bleuzen | Avenue Brancion |
| 9 | Porte de la Plaine | Rue Camliant | Place des Insurges de Varsovie |
| 10 | Porte de Sèvres | None | Rue Balard |
| 11 | Porte de Saint-Cloud | Route de la Reine | Avenue de Versailles |
| 12 | Porte Molitor | Boulevard d'Auteuil | Rue Poussin |
| 13 | Porte d'Auteuil | A13 | Rue Poussin |
| 14 | Porte de Passy | Rue de l'Hippodrome | Rue de Ranelagh |
| 15 | Porte de la Muette | None | Avenue H. Martin |
| 16 | Porte Dauphine | Route de Suresnes | Avenue Foch |
| 17 | Porte Maillot | Avenue Charles De Gaulle | La Défense |
| 18 | Porte de Champerret | Boulevard Bineau | Avenue de Villiers |
| 19 | Porte d'Asnières | Rue Victor Hugo | Rue de Tocqueville |
| 20 | Porte de Clichy | Boulevard Jean Jaurès | Avenue de Clichy |
| 21 | Porte de Saint-Ouen | Avenue G. Péri | Avenue de Saint-Ouen |
| 22 | Porte de Clignancourt | Avenue Michelet | Boulevard Ornano |
| 23 | Porte de la Chapelle | A1 | Rue de la Chapelle |
| 24 | Porte d'Aubervilliers | Avenue Victor Hugo | Rue d'Aubervilliers |
| 25 | Porte de la Villette | Avenue Jean Jaurès | Avenue de Flandre |
| 26 | Porte de Pantin | Avenue Jean Lolive | Avenue Jean Jaurès |
| 27 | Porte du Pré-Saint-Gervais | Rue G. Péri | Rue Haxo |
| 28 | Porte des Lilas | Rue de Paris | Rue de Belleville |
| 29 | Porte de Bagnolet | A3 | Rue Belgrand |
| 30 | Porte de Montreuil | Rue de Paris | Rue d'Avron |
| 31 | Porte de Vincennes | Avenue de Paris | Cours de Vincennes |
| 32 | Porte de Saint-Mandé | Avenue Victor Hugo | Avenue de Saint-Mandé |
| 33 | Porte Dorée | Rue de Ceinture du Lac Daumesnil | Avenue Daumesnil |
| 34 | Porte de Charenton | Avenue de Gravelle | Rue de Charenton |
The périphérique is the innermost of the Paris four ring road system, including A86 (completed in January 2011) and the Francilienne (partial).
There are other périphériques in France, in Bordeaux, Caen, la Défense, Dijon, Lille, Lyon, Nantes, Rennes and Toulouse, often called rocades.