A study reveals that the share of vehicles classified Crit’Air 1 in Île-de-France has risen sharply in recent years. How can the principle of the ZFE be reinforced?
In a study, the Atelier parisien d’urbanisme (Apur) looked at the evolution of the car fleet in Île-de-France. And the results of their work risk reinforce the idea that the Greater Paris ZFE can still be strengthened. Indeed, the work underlines that the share of cars and light commercial vehicles classified Crit’Air 1 (among the most recent) is rising sharply.
The latter is so increased from 4% to 33% between 2012 and 2022. A figure that could reassure the public authorities as to the implementation of future stages of the low-emissions zone of Greater Paris. The latter must prohibit the circulation of vehicles classified Crit’Air 3 and beyond within its perimeter from 2025.
The Greater Paris ZFE at an impasse
Except it’s running late. This ban was originally intended to apply from July 2022. Shortly before this deadline, the ban was pushed back a year, to July 2023. At the beginning of the year, politicians put pressure on this deadline. Geoffroy Boulard, one of the vice-presidents of the metropolis of Greater Paris (MGP), also mayor (LR) of the 17th arrondissement of the capital, declared this to AFP on April 11:
“The Crit’Air 3 ban, according to all assumptions, will take place after the Games [olympiques de 2024] “, i.e. “end of 2024, beginning of 2025”. After a “discussion between all the groups” the MGP “will act on the postponement in June during a metropolitan council. The MGP “believes that the timetable is not tenable”.
“The zero rate loan is still not guaranteed by the state. Ditto for the “implementation of automatic control” of Crit’Air vignettes. The MGP finds itself on a “crest line between a virtuous policy” and the “social acceptability” of this environmental policy.
Visions clash
Valérie Pécresse, president of the Île-de-France region, also wanted a postponement of the ban on the circulation of Crit’Air 3 from 18 months, for individuals. On the other hand, Anne Hidalgo, PS mayor of Paris, wants to keep the calendar and the ban on diesel in the capital in 2024.
It should be remembered that the purpose of the EPZs is to prohibit vehicles that are too old and deemed too polluting from circulating in some metropolitan areas. However, many postponements have been announced recently and these areas are widely contested.
Also read on Auto-Moto.com: