Paris Decision Leading to Europe Chopping Down Outdoor Ads?

A decision by the city council of Paris to cut the maximum size of outdoor advertising in the city will surely affect the income of outdoor advertising companies, but could also curtail brand exposure throughout Europe.

The ruling will cut display advertising in Paris by 30%, Marketwatch reports.

The site also notes that the Paris city council voted to cut the maximum size of advertisements, to eight square meters from 12 square meters.

There will be no “grandfather clause.” Companies will need to replace any current advertisements that are larger than the new size. Also, the site notes that the council also decided that there needs to be 25 meters between each large advertisement.

"We're not opposed to advertising but we want to prevent it from being too intrusive," a spokesperson for the council told Marketwatch.

Marketwatch notes that this “could lead to similar restrictions across Europe.” Research firm Cheuvreux analyst Richard Houbron is quoted saying that the decision in Paris could "motivate other cities across France to follow suit," and possibly other European capitals to review their openness to what is described by opponents as visual pollution.

In countries such as Germany and Nordic countries where the green political power is particularly strong, "we see risk of contagion over time," he said.