Not yet in force (it is planned for 2027), the ecotax is already, unsurprisingly, causing a stir. Not only among certain transporters, the first concerned, but also within the Grand Est Region, which is in charge.
As a reminder, the community has been working since 2022 on the resumption of non-concession national roads, in order to experiment, for eight years, with the principle of a tax on heavy goods vehicles. This will be applied to trucks over 3.5 tonnes and will consist of a “kilometer fee”proportional to the distance traveled and the weight of the vehicle. The perimeter retained includes 524 kilometers, including 145 kilometers in the Marne (RN4 and RN44).
500 signatures collected
Let’s call him “eco-contribution”, “eco-tax” or simply “ecotax”it is now denounced by the National Rally. Head of the RN group in the Grand Est Region, Laurent Jacobelli thus drew out, Sunday evening on his social networks, a petition entitled “No to Franck LEROY’s heavy goods vehicle tax”According to the RN group, she had collected a little more than 500 signatures Monday afternoon.
According to Laurent Jacobelli, this “yet another tax” will harm “carriers but also consumers”because she will be “reflected on sales prices”. According to the Lorraine MP and RN spokesperson, it could also “favoring large companies, often foreign, to the detriment of our family or national structures.”
A heavy goods vehicle tax is already in force in neighbouring countries
This argument has already been dismissed by the regional executive: according to it, many foreign trucks will be affected because they already circulate in the region, precisely because all the neighbouring countries have already introduced a heavy goods vehicle charge. Among the other arguments listed by the Region, there is the need for new revenue for “to go green” truck fleets and renovate aging roads (read elsewhere).
To measure the future economic consequences of the ecotax, an impact study was launched just before the summer. This subject will inevitably come up on Friday in Strasbourg at the back-to-school session of the elected representatives of the Grand Est, since the agenda includes the development of sections of the RN4 and RN44 into two lanes…
A billion in revenue to “rebuild” roads “in poor condition”
In front of the Minister of Transport at the time, Clément Beaune, here is what Franck Leroy, President of the Grand Est, defended, in December 2023, on the subject of this “eco-contribution”: “These roads (A31, N4, etc., Editor’s note) are in poor condition and pose safety problems. Sometimes the work has been expected for decades! And we have up to 80% of foreign trucks on these roads. The eco-contribution will make it possible to raise a billion euros in credits to renovate them.”
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