Parisians on Sunday approved a project to triple parking fees for large and heavy cars called SUVs, but less than 6% of voters took part in that vote.
Just over 78,000 of the 1.3 million voters, or 5.68%, voted for “the introduction of a specific tariff for the parking of heavy, bulky and polluting individual vehicles”.
Specifically targeted are SUVs, the English acronym for Sport Utility Vehicle, whose characteristics combine “those of a passenger car with those of a commercial vehicle,” and all-wheel drive vehicles.
According to the proposal of the socialist mayor Anne Hidalgo, the user of a thermal or plug-in hybrid vehicle weighing more than 1.6 tons or two tons for an electric vehicle will soon have to pay 18 euros per hour for parking in the central districts the capital, 12 euros for the outskirts.
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Residents who park in their neighborhoods and businesses, including taxis, are not affected.
The consultation will be submitted in May for application on September 1st, Anne Hidalgo announced when the results were announced at the town hall.
The mayor welcomed a “clear decision by Parisians” for a measure that was “good for our health and good for the planet”.
In the capital, which has already created pedestrian zones on the Seine and greened 200 streets by eliminating traffic, Ms. Hidalgo justified the vote on the fight against pollution, a better distribution of public space and “road safety.” According to the town hall, “twice as deadly for pedestrians as a normal car.”
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Antoine, 36, who came to vote with his family in the 10th arrondissement in the northeast of the capital, regrets that the vote only affects non-residents: “It's a symbol, but it's a start.”
In the town hall in the 10th arrondissement, where large election posters were displayed, people voted “for”. “It’s completely banal for ecological reasons,” summarizes Caroline, a 51-year-old teacher. “And then, to be honest, we don’t need an SUV in Paris…”
“It takes up too much space, pollutes the environment and hinders cycling,” says Jérôme, 59, with a bicycle helmet in his hand.
“Deviation”
At the town hall in the very chic 8th arrondissement, where SUVs are heavily represented among the cars parked nearby, the majority were “against.”
“The question is very poorly asked,” complains Anne-Marie, 71, who came to vote with her husband. “We'll start with this (…) and then we'll ban everything.”
Jeannine, 75, is “fed up with Ms. Hidalgo's dictates.” “We're fed up with all these environmentalists,” she says.
The NGO WWF describes SUVs as a “deviation” in the face of global warming: they are “200 kilos heavier, 25 cm longer, 10 cm wider” than a standard car. And they require more materials to produce, use 15% more fuel and emit 20% more CO2 than a sedan.
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Unsurprisingly, motorists' associations criticized the town hall's initiative, recalling that SUV is a “marketing name” that “means nothing,” said Yves Carra, spokesman for the Mobilité Club France.
For the right-wing opposition, this shows “the extent of the city’s manipulation, targeting SUVs in its communications, when in reality any type of vehicle is likely to be affected by the standards put to the vote.”
“It is part of a kind of penal ecology,” even if “we have to switch to lighter vehicles,” explained Christophe Béchu, the French minister for ecological transition, on RTL.
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Owner of an SUV, because otherwise “going on vacation with two children would be complicated,” Stéphanie, 40, voted “against” in the 8th. As a resident, she isn't worried at the moment, but she can “see that something is happening.” “If you want a city without cars and without roads, you have to go to the country!” says her husband.
According to the town hall, the levy would affect “around 10% of the parking area” and could bring in around 35 million euros in additional income.
This vote is the second in the capital after the eviction of self-service scooters was ratified in April 2023.