It is a measure that each major metropolis adapts in its own way. Since Paris, the first municipality to have installed it in 2015, 12 other large cities have moved to low emission zones (ZFE). The device must reduce the circulation of the most polluting cars in urban areas, the latter being classified according to a system of Crit’Air stickers. By 2025, 43 localities – municipalities with more than 150,000 inhabitants – throughout France will be affected by its application. Its objective: to limit air pollution, which causes between 40,000 and 100,000 deaths each year in France. To facilitate its execution, the executive opted for decentralization, leaving the municipalities to choose the timetable. A few days before the new year, several large cities have chosen to toughen its application.
In Toulouse, this January 1, 2023, the ZFE will apply to private vehicles, but with relaxation for small riders. A similar decision will take place on the same date in Strasbourg, or in Montpellier. Following the example of these three cities, several metropolises, such as Rouen, have already set up derogation systems to facilitate the establishment of ZFEs. With one objective: to avoid the social bomb that these famous “low emission zones” could cause…
As a reminder, Crit’Air vignettes are classified into several categories. A gray sticker – the Crit’Air 5 -, exists for diesel vehicles put into circulation between 1997 and 2000. The Crit’Air 4 corresponds to a brown sticker intended for diesel vehicles registered between 2001 and 2005. The Crit’Air 3 – orange – is reserved for petrol and hybrid vehicles put into circulation between 1997 and 2005 or diesel vehicles registered between 2006 and 2010. The Crit’Air 2 is awarded to petrol vehicles registered between 2006 and 2010, and to diesel vehicles circulating since 2011. The purple sticker – Crit’Air 1 – is given to petrol or hybrid vehicles put into circulation since 2011, and, finally, the green Crit’Air sticker is left to 100% electric and hydrogen vehicles. According to available data on the government websitecars eligible for the Crit’air 2 sticker “are the most numerous” – 33% of traffic in 2018.
The growl that comes
Weak signals of rising anger multiply. In Île-de-France, the French Federation of angry bikers (FFMC) Paris and small crown called for a demonstration last summer, denouncing in particular the inclusion of certain two-wheelers in the Paris ZFE. In Rouen, where the low emission zone has been in place since September 1, prohibiting the circulation and parking of unclassified vehicles as well as those adorned with Crit’Air 4 and 5 stickers, a demonstration brought together 300 opponents in the city center. It had been organized on the initiative of trade unions… But also of ecological associations, such as Greenpeace or Les Amis de la Terre. “The defense of the environment deserves better than punitive and discriminatory measures which do not attack the real causes and sanction the right to mobility of populations”, have castigated the organizers.
In Toulouse, between October 8 and 9, three city vehicles were ravaged by fire. The action had been accompanied by a tag “Nik la ZFE”. This degradation preceded the tightening of regulations in the Haute-Garonne prefecture: from January 1, 2023, 127,500 personal vehicles – Crit’Air 4, 5 and unclassified – will no longer have citizenship in the Toulouse ZFE, which concerns the 37 municipalities of the metropolis. Their entry will be sanctioned by a fine of 60 to 135 euros. And over the months, the number of people affected by the measure will increase: the following year, 331,102 vehicles in Haute-Garonne – or 41% of the region’s car fleet – will no longer be able to go to the ZFE. An evolution proportional to that operated at the national level. “A recent estimate has shown that the French car fleet today represents 40 million motorists, and not 33 or 34 as previously thought, remarks Frédéric Héran, economist and urban planner, lecturer at the University of Lille. 1. A third of motorists will be affected by the 43 ZFEs in 2025″.
“Little riders” passes
Will they respect them? Nothing is less sure. According to an AramisAuto study carried out by OpinionWay at the beginning of October, 42% of motorists belonging to the lower classes declared that they were “determined” to drive their car despite the bans to come. “The automobile was not imposed on people by an external authority, but was validated by citizens. It meets a social need, analyzes Mathieu Flonneau, historian of mobility and teacher-researcher at the University of Paris 1 Panthéon -Sorbonne. However, this need is not yet met by an alternative transport offer today in the cities. The town halls must therefore adapt”.
To prevent the discontent from growing, the metropolises are already trying to apply it smoothly. “We have received testimonies from people, in recent months, who were worried about the idea that their car would be banned. Retirees, in particular, who lived 500 meters from the ring road. Members of the economic world, too, says François Chollet , vice-president of Toulouse Métropole, in charge of ecology and energy transition. The ZFE is a benefit for health, but we also know that it is a constraint that must be compensated for at better.” To do this, the metropolises take advantage of the local exemptions that they can put in place, in addition to the compulsory national exemptions for vehicles of general interest, from the Ministry of Defense or even public transport. In Toulouse, a “pass” small riders, which should come into force during the month of January, will allow them to ride 52 days a year – that is to say one day a week. To be able to benefit from it, it will be necessary to register its registration on the site of the metropolis for the desired day. A way for the city to try to thwart discontent.
“Making everyday life easier”
In Strasbourg, several decrees will also allow vehicles normally prohibited from circulating on the territory on January 1, 2023 to go there. The main measure is the establishment of a “24h ZFE Pass”, which would be usable “pending the delivery of a vehicle for individuals” or for medical appointments. As in Toulouse, small riders will also be able to claim it, provided they live in the metropolis, or are a visitor who only drives occasionally. This pass will only run 24 times a year, however. “We have the objective of adding 120 additional trains to serve the entire living area of Strasbourg, points out Alain Jund, vice-president in charge of transport for the Eurometropolis. But we also had to make this measure acceptable for the motorists. Our goal is to make everyday life easier”.
In Montpellier too, where the verbalization will begin next year, a derogation “small rollers”, intended for heavy goods vehicles and light commercial vehicles will be put in place, as for traders in “open-air markets”. As in the other two metropolises, the municipality is trying to apply the reform without arousing the anger of residents and businesses. “You are going to ask me if municipalities like Strasbourg are doing this for fear of having yellow vests again, begins Alain Jund. And I will answer you: maybe. To prevent the situation from happening again, we have tried to put in place face of each population with the necessary aid”.
A bill to abolish EPZs
Accompany well, to limit breakage. Nothing ensures, however, that the derogatory measures provided for by the metropolises are suitable for motorists. “These multiple timetables and derogations are creating confusion, says Pierre Chasseray, general delegate and spokesperson for the 40 million motorists association. We must stop looking at the next two years, and look back to 2025: At that point, local overrides will no longer work.” At that time, the arrangements will disappear in favor of a strict application of the law. In anticipation, from the second half of 2024, a sanction control against excessively polluting vehicles will also be put in place. It will be based on the automated reading of license plates. “That’s when, previous derogations or not, the discontent around the ZFEs will explode, predicts Pierre Chasseray. The bomb will explode at the same time as the verbalization”. In Paris, this verbalization has already begun: nearly 1,400 fines linked to the Crit’Air sticker were drawn up between July 2021 and October 2022.
Some already intend to capitalize on this anger: in mid-January, the National Rally has planned to defend during its parliamentary niche a bill to abolish the ZFE, carried by the deputy of Gard Pierre Meurin. According to the latter, quoted by The world, they are “the symbol of a punitive ecology” which attacks “the middle classes who cannot live in the city center but who work there”. To fight against the feeling of relegation of the less well-off, the executive has implemented several measures, such as the conversion bonus and the ecological bonus. A zero-rate loan to finance the acquisition of clean vehicles will also be tested from January 1, 2023 until 2025. It remains to be seen whether these measures will be sufficient to calm the discontent that is coming.