The price of parking will soon skyrocket in this city if your vehicle exceeds a certain weight.
Parking in certain cities in France is sometimes expensive, particularly in the largest ones. And things are certainly not going to get better in the future given the various “anti-car” policies that are popping up everywhere. In some cities, such as Paris, the war on motorized vehicles has been declared for some time now. It took another turn last weekend with the referendum “for or against the creation of a specific rate for the parking of heavy, bulky, polluting individual cars.”
Although very few voters felt concerned – only 5.6% came – 55% of voters sided with the town hall officials who want to reduce car traffic in the streets of the capital. The targeted vehicles have a three-letter name: SUV. The SUV, from English Sport Utility Vehicle, combines the characteristics of a passenger car with those of a utility vehicle. They often have a taller body with a raised driving position, more robust suspension and greater cargo capacity than sedans.
In less than ten years, SUVs have become extremely popular to the point that they now represent nearly one in two sales of new vehicles in France. These are the types of vehicles which, from 1er September 2024 in Paris, and possibly later in other cities in France, will be very expensive in parking costs. In the 75, their price for parking will simply triple in the central districts to…18 euros per hour! It will be a little less but still very expensive – 12 euros – in the peripheral districts. This price increase will not apply to residents or professionals.
However, do all SUV owners know that they own an SUV, and conversely, do some think they are driving an SUV when they are driving a vehicle from another segment that may resemble them, for example a minivan like the Renault Scénic, the old Renault Espace models or the Citroën Xsara Picasso. If you have any doubt, know that the “SUV hunt” launched by certain municipalities is in fact a hunt for heavy vehicles because they are most often more polluting. And if you want to know if your vehicle is affected by the upcoming increase in parking rates, it is actually its weight that you must refer to.
For a petrol, diesel or hybrid car, the price of parking in the center of Paris will increase from 6 to 18 euros per hour if your car weighs more than 1.6 tonnes. The threshold not to be exceeded rises to 2 tonnes if it is an electric vehicle, heavier due to the significant weight of the battery. It is also using a license plate reader that agents will be able to check the weight of parked cars and thus check whether the owner has paid the required price when parking. To know the weight of a vehicle, nothing could be simpler, it is indicated on its registration certificate opposite box G1. This is its empty weight, therefore without any loading.