Parisians against SUVs: 18 euros per hour of parking

The posters were menacing: a stylized red car on a black background could be seen across the French capital in recent weeks. And the question posed on those posters was more rhetorical: "Do you want more or less SUVs on the streets of Paris?", reports Deutsche Welle.

According to the preliminary results, about 54,5 percent of those who voted were in favor of increasing the fee, and about 45,5 percent were against it. Admittedly, only about six percent of the 1,3 million residents of Paris turned out for the referendum.

This, however, does not call into question the result of the vote and the mayor Ann Hidalgo, who has been in power for ten years, can be satisfied. "The bigger it is, the more harmful it is to the environment", is how the socialist summarizes her beliefs about motor vehicles, based on which she wants to radically change Paris - to make it a more ecological city and more acceptable for life. She refers to studies that show that more than half of the residents of the French capital breathe bad air.

In order to make Paris greener, the mayor, despite strong opposition, previously declared the banks of the Seine a pedestrian zone. In addition, it closed the main artery of the Rue de Rivoli to traffic, and introduced a speed limit of 30 kilometers per hour in the cross streets.

Parking spaces were removed, and bicycle paths were created. According to her, by 2026, Paris should be absolutely covered by bicycle paths.

First the SUV, then everyone else?

On Sunday, there was no vote on the ban, but Fr deterrence drivers of cars known by the abbreviation SUV (Sport Utility Vehicle) with the help of high prices. Since her plan succeeded, the parking of such cars with internal combustion engines or hybrid drive, weighing more than 1,6 tons (two tons for electric vehicles) in the central parts of Paris will in the future be tripled - from six to 18 euros per an hour.

The price for six hours of parking in the center will reach as much as 225 euros. On the outskirts, each hour of parking will be slightly cheaper: twelve euros.

The project was opposed by the French car club "40 million drivers". An online petition "Stop the fight against SUVs" was launched, but it proved unsuccessful in Paris.

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It may be different in other cities, as politicians in Lyon, Bordeaux and Grenoble are also considering introducing more expensive parking fees for large cars.

As in other countries of the European Union, SUVs are also very popular in France. According to the association, almost half of the new registrations in the first half of 2023 fell to this class of vehicles. The auto club is convinced that the declaration of war on SUVs is just the beginning. "It's about completely eradicating such cars."

Tourists and visitors will pay the price

The low turnout of only six percent also shows that many in the French capital were quite relaxed about the referendum. This is because the new regulations will not affect the residents of Paris, nor will businesses that have their own parking spaces. It does not apply to taxi drivers at taxi stands, craftsmen, or health workers. Tourists and visitors will pay the price, and it is estimated that it is around 900.000 vehicles.

In the campaign for a "penalty tax" for large cars, for which French environmental associations also advocated, the mayor did not only point to the high emissions of these vehicles. According to her, road safety and a better division of "public space" also speak against SUVs.

According to city officials, accidents involving such SUVs "are twice as deadly for pedestrians as those involving regular cars."

The idea of ​​raising the price of parking is, however, ideologically motivated. "The referendum aims to send a message against car manufacturers' greed for profit." The fact that they deliberately sell ever larger, more fuel-efficient and increasingly expensive vehicles endangers ecological transformation," said the city administration.

Paris red-green coalition

Since taking office, Hidalgo has turned environmental politics into a political brand. "We are in the middle of a phase of change, and the most difficult thing in this phase is that we have to change our habits," the politician described her beliefs in an interview a few years ago.

At the local level, that concept has paid off for her so far. Jeste Hidalgo remained below two percent as a presidential candidate two years ago, but that's why she managed to win the second round with her red-green coalition in the local elections in the spring of 2020.

New prices are not all that awaits drivers. At the beginning of 2025, a driving ban will come into force in Paris for all diesel vehicles manufactured before 2011.

That example also showed where (for now) the limits of the ban policy are: originally, all diesel vehicles in Paris were supposed to be banned from January 1, 2024, but Hidalgo was unable to push through.

That is why she managed to push for, after the Olympic Games in the summer, the maximum speed on the busy city highway "Periferik" to be reduced from the current 70 to 50 kilometers per hour.