Birdsong and clear views: coronavirus lockdown clears Paris pollution

FILE PHOTO: French tenor singer Stephane Senechal sings from his apartment window in Paris as a lockdown is imposed to slow the rate of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) spread in France, March 24, 2020. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes

PARIS (Reuters) - Parisians confined to their flats by a lockdown imposed to curb the spread of coronavirus can at least now open their windows and breathe in fresh air, listen to the birds and enjoy a peaceful night's sleep.

That's because air pollution and noise have fallen sharply in Paris, where streets are largely deserted, empty of the traffic that normally drowns out birdsong and chokes the air around landmarks such as the Eiffel Tower and Arc de Triomphe.