In the Greater Paris Low Emission Zone, Crit'Air 3 vehicles, i.e. diesel cars registered before 2011 and gasoline cars registered before 2006, can no longer circulate.
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In Greater Paris, i.e. 77 municipalities out of the 131 in the metropolis, this decision represents approximately 422,000 private vehicles and 59,000 professionals, according to a study by the Parisian town planning workshop (Apur) in 2023. But the fines (68 euros flat rate ) are not for now: all Crit'Air 3 vehicles will be exempt from inspection for one year in Paris. And suitable radars should generally only arrive in 2026 to automate control and sanctions.
Low Emission Zones (ZFE) were established by the Mobility Orientation Law in 2019 and then reinforced by the Climate Law of 2021. Very widespread in Europe where air quality is degraded, they aim to encourage motorists to buy less polluting vehicles, hybrid or electric, or to use public transport and so-called “soft” modes of transport.
The metropolises of Paris and Lyon have been forced to restrict the circulation of cars classified Crit'Air 3 because of the poor quality of their air. The metropolises of Montpellier and Grenoble have decided for their part to put in place a restriction on the circulation of Crit'Air 3 vehicles from January 1, without being required to do so immediately.
In detail, Greater Paris prohibits the circulation of Crit'Air 3 vehicles in its ZFE (within the perimeter of the A86 motorway), from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. on weekdays. These vehicles will no longer be able to circulate or park at all in Lyon (as well as in Caluire-et-Cuire and in part of Villeurbanne, Bron and Vénissieux), in the ZFE of Montpellier (11 municipalities before an extension to the entire metropolis in 2026) and in the Grenoble ZFE (13 municipalities with the exception of a few main roads);
Numerous exemptions (disabled people, workers working shifts, etc.) and purchasing assistance have been put in place by these metropolises to smooth the effect of these restrictions, even if their critics denounce areas of “high exclusion” which penalize the poorest households.
To date, twelve urban areas have already set up ZFEs, including Aix-Marseille-Provence, Nice, Toulouse, Strasbourg, Reims, Rouen, Saint-Etienne and Clermont-Ferrand. Since January 1, 2024, they have all already imposed total bans on unclassified cars (cars registered before 1997, except collector's cars) and unclassified light utility vehicles (registered before September 30, 1997). Most have also implemented driving schedules or total bans for cars classified Crit'Air 4 and 5 (diesel cars registered before 2006).
Until the beginning of this year, it was expected that Marseille, Strasbourg and Rouen would have to restrict, like Paris and Lyon, the circulation of Crit'Air 3 cars in 2025, but the Ministry of Ecological Transition announced in March that they would not no longer had this obligation, due to the improvement in their air quality.
