Paris and its war against SUVs

Parisians were consulted about a radical increase in parking fees for commercial vehicles – up to 225 euros for six hours. Motivation is environmental and urban planning. But there are those who fear a total ban on cars. The stylized image of the red car against a black background certainly gives a threatening impression. The question on posters along the streets of the French capital, anticipating this Sunday's referendum (04/02), is rhetorical, but direct: “Do you want more SUVs on the streets of Paris, or fewer?”

Mayor Anne Hidalgo is betting that the majority of the 1.3 million citizens entitled to vote will select the second option. “The bigger it is, the more environmental damage”: this is how the center-left politician sums up her opinion on cars. It is around this premise that, in recent years, she has radically remodeled Paris.

Its intention is to make the metropolis more welcoming, from an environmental point of view, and improve the quality of life. And it mentions studies showing that more than half of Parisians breathe poor quality air.

To make Paris “greener”, Hidalgo has already declared the banks of the River Seine a pedestrian zone, despite enormous resistance; he closed the main artery of the historic center, rue de Rivoli, to traffic; and introduced a maximum speed of 30 kilometers per hour throughout the city. In addition, it also removed parking lots and created new bike lanes. By 2026, she wants a Paris that is 100% bicycle-friendly.

225 euros for six hours of parking

One of the mayor's main targets is sports utility vehicles (SUVs). The ballots for the current referendum do not contain an explicit prohibition, but rather high parking prices as a deterrent for property owners. Citizens will decide “for or against the introduction of a charge for parking heavy, bulky and environmentally unfriendly vehicles”.

If the socialist policy proposal passes, for cars with combustion engines or plug-in hybrids (powered by the electricity grid) weighing more than 1.6 tons (2 tons for electric ones), the price of parking in central Paris will triple to 18 euros per hour. Six hours in the capital's core will cost SUV owners 225 euros.

In more remote neighborhoods, the first hour is a little cheaper, 12 euros. A series of exceptions to the new rule are also foreseen, which would not affect residents of the capital, taxi drivers parking in special lanes, traders in permitted zones, and healthcare professionals.

Environmental associations support Hidalgo's campaign, highlighting the high carbon emissions of these heavy vehicles, as well as the use of public spaces and traffic safety issues: according to municipal authorities, SUVs are twice as fatal for pedestrians as normal cars.

And they argue: “The vote aims to send a message to automobile manufacturers and their greed for profits. The fact that they intentionally sell increasingly larger, more fuel-efficient and expensive vehicles sabotages the green transition.”

Dark times await motorists

The French car owners association 40 Millions d'Automobilistes rejects the initiative. Their online petition “Stop the fight against SUVs” aims to mobilize against the project whose impact could reach far beyond the capital. Politicians in cities such as Lyon, Bordeaux and Grenoble are already discussing higher parking fees for large vehicles.

As in other countries, SUVs are especially popular in France. According to 40 Millions, they represented half of new registrations in the first half of 2023. Furthermore, this would be just the beginning of a war of extermination: “The idea is to eradicate cars entirely”, states the association.

The motorists' association's fears may not be so far from reality. If Hidalgo is successful in introducing higher parking fees, it is possible that new restrictions await property owners.

Paris plans to ban diesel vehicles manufactured before 2011 from the beginning of 2025. On the other hand – demonstrating the difficulty of imposing bans that affect the automobile industry – this regulation was supposed to come into force this January, but the city council was unable to do so. it pass.

Since Hidalgo took office in 2014, a bold environmental policy has characterized his administration. “We currently find ourselves in the midst of a process of change. And the most difficult thing at this stage is that we need to change our habits”, he explained in a television interview, a few years ago.

Although in her ill-fated presidential bid two years ago she only obtained less than 2% of the vote, the strategy has benefited the politics of the center-left Socialist Party (PS) at the local level. In the 2020 presidential elections, his red-green coalition easily left the competition behind.

After the 2024 Olympic Games, scheduled for July, the speed limit on the busy Boulevard Périphérique, which surrounds the French capital, will be reduced from the current 70 kilometers to 50 kilometers per hour. Another sign that, regardless of the results of the polls this Sunday, Parisian drivers may become accustomed to having less and less room to maneuver.