Un Volvo At the wheel, Yves, a fifty-something from Bordeaux and owner of one of these SUVs officially in the crosshairs of the ecological municipality of Bordeaux. Sigh of the person concerned, resigned to the idea of being singled out “as a polluter”. The news quickly spread around the city and beyond: “environmental” pricing will be introduced from May 2 for surface parking of thermal vehicles exceeding 1.6 tonnes – and 1.9 tonnes. for electric or hybrid models.
The announced increase is not insignificant: + 30% in the red and green sectors of the city. Example: 3.25 euros for an hour in the city center (the “red”), 6.50 euros for 2 hours, 13 euros for 3 hours, 20 for 4 hours versus respectively 2.5, 5, 10 and 15 euros , the prices in force. In the event of a post-parking package, the bill will rise to 45.50 euros, compared to 35 euros when driving a “standard” vehicle. Please note, this increased rate will automatically apply on the basis of the vehicle registration number recorded when the famous “flasher cars” pass by, which have replaced enforcement officers since 2022.
“Lack of ambition”
Yves does not know the exact weight of his SUV but has no illusions, “with micro-hybridization” which makes the vehicle a little more ballast. He's not wrong: 2,319 kilos on the scale, well above the required threshold, including for hybrid engines. He sees it as “a roundabout way of taxing the citizens”: “We have a town hall full of good intentions but it would be better to pay more attention to soft mobility, to securing cycle lanes… All this lacks ambition and height” , he decides.
And to conclude: “We criticize SUVs, but the French drive SUVs…” Not wrong: in 2024, four SUVs appeared in the top 10 best-selling French cars. In Gironde alone, according to figures from Mobilians, SUVs accounted for 51.5% of new vehicle sales, far ahead of so-called “hatchback” cars (trunk with rear window, 40.1%). “For the comfort of long journeys, for safety”, pleads Roger, retiree living in Eysines, owner of a 2020 Toyota Rav4 hybrid. He already saw himself in the wrong car of the increased price, but wrongly: with 1,680 kilos empty, his vehicle passes between the drops.
Good old minivans
In fact, by claiming a calibration on thermal models above 1,600 kilos already “targeted” by the government penalty, the Bordeaux town hall is taking care not to attract the wrath of the middle classes. The penalty established by the State is, however, based on the threshold of 1,600 kilos in “working order”, i.e. an “empty weight” of 1,525 kilos. However, the City's website invites you to refer to box G1 of the registration document, the one which takes into account the “empty weight” of the vehicle. Is the town hall, in its great leniency, holding back its blows, unlike the tire deflators activists who, on the night of Thursday January 16 to Friday January 17, targeted around fifteen SUVs parked in the Nansouty district without prior sorting?
-“We criticize SUVs, but the French drive SUVs…”
Still, SUVs as common, and altogether imposing, as the Peugeot 3008 or Citroën C5 Aircross escape the increase. Just like good old “family” minivans like the Renault Grand Scenic or C4 Grand Spacetourer. In Lyon, a pioneer in environmental pricing since June 2024, the increase is steeper: it reaches 50% and establishes a distinction between thermal vehicles (from 1,525 kilos), rechargeable hybrids (from 1,900 kilos) and electric (from 2,100 kilos).
Totem
By brandishing a “special rate” for the heaviest vehicles during his greeting ceremony, without waiting for the vote of the next Municipal Council, Mayor Pierre Hurmic of course grasps its significance, as political as it is symbolic, in the name of the excess CO² emissions (+15% according to WWF compared to an average car), “greater” occupation of public space and “more serious accidents for pedestrians and cyclists”: “A pedestrian up to twice more risk of being killed in the event of a collision with an SUV compared to a standard car,” underlines the City press release. Not quite, but still “1.48 times” more risk, according to the 2023 Road Safety report.
The measure would concern “10%” of surface parking subscribers – professionals are exempt. And above all “14%” of visitor vehicles, according to town hall data. “I hardly ever go into town in an SUV. Either we take the tram, or we take the small car,” reasons Roger, from Eysines. A lesser evil, therefore, for the inhabitants of the Metropolis experienced with the difficulties of the city center. For those arriving from further afield, this will be a welcome gift.
