Valérie Pécresse calls for “not to make life impossible” for motorists

In a letter addressed to the president of the Greater Paris metropolis, Valérie Pécresse expresses her concerns about the ban on the circulation of Crit'Air 3 vehicles. She fears putting too many constraints on nearly 1.3 million motorists.

While the new stage of the Low Emission Zone must be applied in Paris on January 1, 2025, Valérie Pécresse spoke to Patrick Ollier, president of the Greater Paris metropolis (MGP), to express her concerns.

In a letter, the president of the Île-de-France region expressed her fears about the new provisions imposed by the strengthening of the ZFE. From 2025, vehicles bearing the Crit'Air 3 sticker will no longer be able to circulate from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., Monday to Friday, in the sector.

If Valérie Pécresse demonstrates her desire to “continue our collective action against air pollution”, what these measures of the Greater Paris metropolis propose, and indicates that “many ZFEs are demonstrating their effectiveness all over the world” , she explains that the daily lives of many motorists could be disrupted.

“The region draws your attention to the imperative need not to make life impossible for entire sections of the population by too brutally hindering their ability to come and go,” she wrote.

A largely disrupted vehicle fleet

Concretely, the strengthening of the ZFE would bring about big changes for almost a quarter of Ile-de-France motorists. More precisely, 1.3 million Ile-de-France cars would be affected by the restrictions, compared to 7% (370,000 cars) currently.

“31% of vehicles in Seine-Saint-Denis, a department included in the ZFE, will no longer be able to circulate normally,” adds Valérie Pécresse. Regarding Seine-et-Marne and Val-d'Oise, 28% of cars are affected. In certain cities, such as Bondy (Seine-Saint-Denis) and Mantes-la-Jolie (Yvelines), the rate rises to 40 and 43% respectively.

At the same time, Valérie Pécresse returns to the “ZFE 24h Pass”. It allows excluded vehicles exceptional access within the perimeter of the A86 (this is not included), from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., excluding weekends and public holidays. All for 24 hours, 12 times each year.

The Greater Paris metropolis therefore wishes to increase the number of possible exemption days, for example 52 for the ZFEs of Lyon and Toulouse. An announcement should be made during the month of December, MGP indicates to BFM Paris Île-de-France.

But, for the region, “the conditions and durations of the exemptions are too heterogeneous and complex, and the prior authorization mechanism too restrictive for our citizens and businesses, to whom we owe, on the contrary, simplification”.

“Correct the painful social consequences”

Having become a legal obligation with the climate and resilience law of 2021, the ZFE and its provisions imply a reorganization of traffic and new habits for motorists. Except that Valérie Pécresse fears broader consequences.

“The risk is real, if such a decree were to be taken, that we would witness a relegation of the Ile-de-France residents most in difficulty and an accentuation of the territorial and social divisions of Île-de-France,” she argues. .

She further justifies her position by recalling that her policy has aimed since 2016 to avoid such a scenario. “The Low Emission Zone must not turn into a high exclusion zone,” she adds.

The president of the Ile-de-France region calls on Patrick Ollier to launch a revision of this text to “correct the painful social consequences” that it would entail for “the least advantaged households and artisans of Île-de-France” .

In return, MGP indicates that it has had a “Métropole rolls clean” system for changing your vehicle since 2016. To date, 8,549 requests for aid and 34.9 million euros have been distributed, which it describes as with BFM Paris Île-de-France of “success”.

This aid can be combined with other measures, such as the conversion bonus, which is also one of the main expectations within the framework of the finance bill for 2025. Communities are indeed waiting for this and the Zero rate loans continue.