By Francois Murphy

PARIS (Reuters) - The new tram running along the southern edge of Paris offers a glimpse of City Hall's plans for the future.

Its sleek carriages roll smoothly along a grassy strip built especially in the middle of the boulevard, squeezing what used to be six lanes of traffic into two narrow ones on either side.

The tram, which opened earlier this month, is a key project of Paris Mayor Bertrand Delanoe, a Socialist, and his Green deputy in charge of transport policy, Denis Baupin, in their bid to force drivers out of their cars and onto public transport.

While other cities have sought to stem the flow of traffic in their gridlocked centers by charging drivers for the right to enter, Paris has kept the city gates open but slashed the space available for cars by adding bus lanes and widening pavements.