There was Reims, Rouen or even Montpellier on November 4th. This Friday, Pierre Chasseray drops his suitcases in Grenoble, then in Lyon the following day. In fifteen days there will still be Strasbourg and the delegate general of 40 million motorists will be done with his atypical tour of France. “The Great Loop of the Outcasts” was the title of the association for the defense of motorists.
Pierre Chasseray goes there looking for testimony from residents who fear the establishment low emission zones (ZFE). He claims to have already collected several thousand which will feed into a documentary scheduled for the beginning of next year, and has already slipped in a certainty: “The challenge is not so much knowing whether we are for or against these ZFEs, but whether they will set fire to France and when?”, he explains.
“A social time bomb”
The device aims to limit access to agglomerations – part of their territories – to the most polluting vehicles. That’s why he trusts Crit’Air cartoons, which classify vehicles according to their emissions of fine particles and nitrogen oxides. While there have been no sanctions to date, some EPZs are already in place. “This is the case of the eleven agglomerations* that regularly exceed the European air quality thresholds,” explains Valentin Desfontaines, head of “urban mobility” at the Climate Action Network (RAC). But as of January 1, 2025, the 34 other French cities with more than 150,000 inhabitants must, in turn, have set its own ZFE**.
It is this date that Pierre Chasseray keeps as that of “the inevitable explosion of this ZFE time bomb”. It could be even sooner, he says, as Clément Beaune, Minister of Transport, announced on October 25 automated checks for sanctions*** from the second half of 2024.
Those 40 million motorists, including the “be able to drive” is one of the creeds, is hostile to EPZs is not surprising. But this social risk of the device is not ignored even by those who consider the tool effective and necessary, both to improve air quality in large cities and to accelerate the ecological transition. The increase in their number, but also the progressive extension of traffic restrictions, “will have a significant impact on mobility, and consequently, on access to daily activities and on the rights of millions of inhabitants”, write the deputies Gerard Leseul (PS) et Bruno Millienne (Modem) in the conclusions of their “flash mission” on the issue of better support for the ZFE, on 14 October.
40% of French people interested in 2025… Or even more?
A social risk too neglected by the executive? “Too often we give the impression of considering the ZFE as a mobility policy, by itself”, criticizes Valentin Desfontaines. It is just one tool among others to transform our mobility and it is effective only if accompanied by a real support strategy to make it socially acceptable. going will be terrible. »
Among their 20 recommendations in this regard, Gérard Leseul and Bruno Millienne insist in particular on the need to accelerate the diffusion of alternatives to the car. For example, implementing dedicated lanes for express bus lines or for carpooling or creating relay parking linked to public transport on the outskirts of cities. “There are interesting initiatives launched,” notes Valentin Desfontaines, citing the creation of the
Among their 20 recommendations in this regard, Gérard Leseul and Bruno Millienne insist in particular on the need to accelerate the diffusion of alternatives to the car. By implementing, for example, dedicated lanes for express bus lines or carpooling, or by creating relay parking linked to public transport on the outskirts of cities. “There are interesting initiatives launched,” notes Valentin Desfontaines, citing the creation of the European Express Metro Network (REME), “which will significantly expand the offer of trains and timetables for Strasbourg”. But very often there is still a lot to do, “and it is also up to the state, as organizer of mobility, to work on it much more, for example by strengthening the railway network”, insists Gérard Leseul .
“We hide our eyes on the rest of the charge”
Another key issue: aid for the purchase of a clean vehicle. Again national systems exist or have been announced. The ecological bonus, the conversion bonus, or even Emmanuel Macron’s electoral promise, announced for the beginning of 2024,a leasing offer for an electric vehicle at 100 euros per month for the poorest families. Put one after the other, these devices represent an “effort incomparable in Europe”, assured Clément Beaune, also him, on October 25th.
There is still a downside, underlines Valentin Desfontaines: “We hide our eyes on the remainder to be paid, that is to say what remains to be paid once this aid has been deducted. For an entry-level electric, it’s around 8,000 euros, far too heavy for many French people. And if local aid is sometimes added, it is still very uneven across the territory”. As for Macron’s leasing, Gérard Leseul has doubts. “A classic leasing offer always provides for a higher first fee than subsequent ones, and the same goes for the last one if the individual definitely wants to buy the car. Are we guaranteed that payments will be 100 euros from start to finish? The outlines are very blurry. » What did it indicate The echoes September 29th.
What about the weight of the vehicles?
At RAC, as in the conclusions of the flash mission, we therefore urge a better destination of these aids for the acquisition of a clean vehicle. “Even if it means taking 30% of the richest families out of these devices, speculates Valentin Desfontaines. The savings made could be redirected towards the more modest ones to finally reach acceptable out-of-pocket payments. But the head of “urban mobility” of the CRA also invites us to take the problem in another direction. “The state must also use all its weight to redirect the production of electric vehicles towards the more sober and less expensive models”. Which means lighter, insist many NGOs who regularly ask for it lower the automaticus threshold [de 1,8 tonnes aujourd’hui à 1,3]. “We could also imagine different parking prices depending on the weight of the vehicles, or even integrate this mass parameter – and also that of CO2 emissions – in the access criteria to the ZFEs, adds Valentin Desfontaines. This is the paradox today: an SUV that emits a lot of CO2 can be Crit’air 1 because it emits few fine particles and nitrogen oxides. »
A temporary need for flexibility?
In the absence of optimal support to date, Gérard Leseul and Bruno Millienne therefore advocate, in their flash mission, agility and flexibility in the implementation of the ZFEs. At least temporarily. The example, once again, is Strasbourg, with its logbook. It allows people twelve journeys a year in the ZFE with a vehicle that is theoretically prohibited. “We could go up to 24,” said the Seine-Maritime deputy. “But there are thousands of derogations that it would be legitimate to grant, so that the ZFE no longer makes sense”, replies Pierre Chasseray. Which will accept these areas only “if limited to the heart of very large cities and granting an exemption to residents”.
*These are Paris, the metropolis of Greater Paris, Lyon, Grenoble, Aix-Marseille, Montpellier, Nice, Rouen, Strasbourg, Toulon and Toulouse. These agglomerations are currently not all at the same pace in restrictions. But, from 1 January 2023, the Crit’Air 5 (diesel vehicles manufactured before 2001) will be compulsorily banned at least there. On January 1, 2024 it will be the turn of Crit’Air 4 (diesel before 2006) then Crit’Air 3 (diesel before 2011 and petrol before 2006) on January 1, 2025. advance, recalls Valentin Desfontaines. The restrictions already apply in theory to Crit’Air 5 and 4 and will extend to Crit’Air 4 next summer. It should also be noted that Reims and Saint-Etienne have also already set up their ZFE without being obliged to do so.
** These 34 agglomerations will retain full freedom to decide the timing and extent of the restrictions. “Clearly, they shouldn’t immediately extend the restrictions to Crit’Air 3 vehicles,” specifies Valentin Desfontaines.
*** a class 3 offence, i.e. a flat-rate fine of 68 euros
