The Eiffel Tower is seen in a heavy smog in Paris, France, on December 8, 2016. [Photo/IC]

Paris announced license-plate-based driving restrictions for a third day in a row on Wednesday and planned to expand a ban on old cars, as the French capital experienced its worst air pollution in a decade.

On Tuesday and Wednesday, Paris banned cars from the road based on whether their license plates ended with odd or even numbers. It will ban half of all traffic again on Thursday.

The air quality index in Paris from Tuesday to Thursday was between 130 and 150.

The level of PM10-particulate matter that is less than 10 microns in diameter and harmful to health-was at 80 or more micrograms per cubic meter on Wednesday and Thursday, and the same level was forecast for Friday.

Other French cities such as Lyon were also planning bans as clouds of pollution hang over many European cities due to a lack of the winds that normally blow in off the Atlantic Ocean.