Pavement ad tests halted as guinea-pig cities object

Tests of pavement adverts have been halted in Bordeaux and Nantes after the government said there had not been enough discussion in the two cities, although similar tests in Lyon will continue.

Until now pavement adverts have been banned under the Code de la Route but Lyon start-up Biodegr’AD had won permission for initial tests of small ads made using biodegradable inks or chalk-based paints and stencils in what was aimed to be an 18-month trial.

However, Nantes refused to get involved in “useless pollution” and Bordeaux mairie said it had not been consulted. Anti-publicity groups attacked the ‘guerilla advertising’ with one saying the “method may be clean but the purpose is dirty”.