For or against the increase in parking rates for tall and heavy cars, known as SUVs? Parisians approved, on Sunday February 4, a project to triple parking prices for these vehicles. 

A little more than 78,000 of the 1.3 million voters, or 5.68%, participated in this vote which creates a specific rate for the parking of “heavy, bulky, polluting individual cars”. Specifically targeted are SUVs (Sport Utility Vehicles), with characteristics combining “those of a passenger car with those of a utility vehicle”, and 4x4s.

According to the proposal from socialist mayor Anne Hidalgo, the user of a thermal or plug-in hybrid vehicle weighing more than 1.6 tonnes, or two tonnes for an electric vehicle, will soon have to pay 18 euros per hour for parking in the central districts of the capital, 12 euros for the outer districts. Residents parking in their neighborhood and professionals, including taxis, will not be affected.

Read alsoAnti-SUV referendum: large cars in the sights of the mayor of Paris

A vote without enthusiasm

The deliberation will be presented in May for application on September 1, indicated Anne Hidalgo when the results were announced at City Hall. The mayor welcomed a “clear choice of Parisians” in favor of a measure “good for our health and good for the planet”.

In April 2023, some 103,000 people, or 7.46% of those registered, voted in favor of eliminating self-service scooters in the capital, for the first vote of its kind.

This time, it is "a little less" participation "than for scooters", but it is a "very good result", commented Anne Hidalgo, anticipating other votes to "resolve questions which are part of our daily lives.

Asked about the importance of the ballots "against" the measure, his EELV deputy for Mobility David Belliard estimated that the difference was "significant" while the vote concerned a "complicated question, a priori not very popular".

In a press release, the opposition group LR and related judged that the vote had taken place "in general indifference".

“This very low participation combined with close results, on a measure claimed as emblematic by Anne Hidalgo and her team, constitutes a real disavowal for the mayor of Paris,” says the right-wing opposition.

Unsurprising results

In the capital, which has already pedestrianized the quays of the Seine and greened 200 streets by eliminating traffic, Anne Hidalgo justified the vote by the fight against pollution, better sharing of public space and "road safety". accidents involving an SUV being, according to the town hall, "twice as fatal for pedestrians as with a standard car".

Also read “Paris without cars”, spearhead of Anne Hidalgo’s ecological policy

The results by district actually follow the political map: opposition to the special rate prevails in those led by the right, while the "for" is the majority in those led by the left or Horizons.

Thus in the 10th arrondissement, led by the PS, nearly 77% of voters validated the proposal. “For ecological reasons,” Caroline, a 51-year-old teacher, summarized for AFP.

“It pollutes and hinders bicycle traffic,” added Jérôme, 59, bicycle helmet in hand.

At the town hall of the very chic 8th arrondissement, where SUVs are well represented among the cars parked nearby, the majority were "against".

Owner of an SUV because otherwise, “with two children, going on vacation is complicated”, Stéphanie, 40, is one of them. “If you want to have a city without cars and without streets, you have to go to the countryside!” says her husband.

“Being in a Crit'air 1 sticker (low-polluting vehicle) or in a hybrid and having to pay prices of more than 135 euros for half a day, it's completely crazy!”, protested Charles Frassaint, 34 years old, financial consultant who voted in the 15th.

An overtaxation which would target “nearly 10% of the fleet”

The NGO WWF describes SUVs as an “aberration” in the face of global warming: they are “200 kilos heavier, 25 cm longer, 10 cm wider” than a standard car. And require more materials for their manufacture, consume 15% more fuel and emit 20% more CO2 than a sedan.

Unsurprisingly, motorist associations have criticized the town hall's initiative, recalling that SUV is a "marketing name" which "means nothing", according to Yves Carra, spokesperson for the Mobilité Club France.

For the right-wing opposition, this “demonstrates the extent of the manipulation of the City, which targets SUVs in its communication when in reality, any type of vehicle is likely to be affected by the standards submitted to the vote” .

“It’s part of a form of punitive ecology”, even if we have to “move towards lighter vehicles”, Christophe Béchu, the French Minister of Ecological Transition, declared on RTL.

According to the town hall, the surcharge would concern "around 10% of the park" and could bring in around 35 million euros in additional revenue.

With AFP

The France 24 summary of the week

invites you to look back at the news that marked the week

I subscribe

Take international news everywhere with you! Download the France 24 application