How do we go about driving a classic car through France's clean air zones?

I was under the impression that the French authorities had banned classic cars - even if they were over forty years old - from entering major French cities. With this in mind, I wrote to the French embassy...

Do you think the cigarette lighter in my 1994 Chrysler Concorde turns off when I turn off the engine?

Do you think the cigarette lighter in my 1994 Chrysler Concorde turns off when I turn off the engine?

Could you suggest a low tech, low maintenance classic?

With all the publicity about over complex, money pit, unfit for purpose cars - what do you recommend as a low tech alternative? I realise regulations don't permit this for a modern car, but what about...