In 2014, the Paris\u00a0pr\u00e9fecture\u00a0<\/em>had decided to make any wood-burning fireplace illegal due to fears over pollution (Paris has recently been dealing with the highest air pollution levels in Europe). The new law making the use of open-foyer fireplaces illegal within Paris was set to go into effect on January 1, 2015. But, following a public outcry, the law was canceled. According to a December 2014 article, the minister of Ecology, S\u00e9gol\u00e8ne Royal stated, \u00abIl faut \u00eatre un peu raisonnable. Je ne suis pas favorable \u00e0 une soci\u00e9t\u00e9 des interdictions. Celle-ci para\u00eet excessive. Je suis pour qu’on encourage les gens \u00e0 prendre conscience de la pollution mais (…) je ne veux pas que ce soit par une d\u00e9cision trop sch\u00e9matique, un peu absurde.\u00bb<\/em><\/p>\n But it’s not just a question of liberty, Royal stated, but the official data on pollution caused by fireplaces is, according to her, “compl\u00e8tement faux.<\/em>” Not everyone agrees, however. Many environmental agencies say that the data is correct and that the proposed bill was not successful because of vociferous public opinion against it–and not because of false data. An environmental group called La Direction r\u00e9gionale et interd\u00e9partementale de l’environnement et de l’\u00e9nergie (La Driee)<\/em>\u00a0<\/em>states that \u00ab Le chauffage au bois en foyer ouvert contribue \u00e0 hauteur de 23 % des \u00e9missions totales de PM10 (particules fines d’un diam\u00e8tre inf\u00e9rieur \u00e0 10 microns) en Ile-de-France, soit autant que les \u00e9chappements de v\u00e9hicules routiers. \u00bb<\/em><\/p>\n According to Le Parisien, this means is the equivalent of “une demi-journ\u00e9e pass\u00e9e au coin d’un feu \u00e9mettrait autant de particules fines qu’une voiture diesel qui roulerait pendant 3 500 km.”<\/em><\/p>\n Our converted fireplace has an insert, which means it is not considered\u00a0une chemin\u00e9e foyer ouvert,\u00a0<\/em>as designated by the French government, and the law would only have applied to fireplaces without any insert or covering. What do you think about this? Do you think the law should have been passed, or was it rightly canceled?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" This time of year in New York, as the temperatures drop, our best friend is…the fireplace! In our house, we have a wood-burning stove so its not just for decorative purposes, it also provides heat in the house. (We still have the heat on, but keep it on low. Our converted fireplace pushes out hot…<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/french\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2015\/12\/16421852318_fc1e0541a3_z-350x263.jpg\")