Barely one in twenty voters took part, on Sunday February 4, in the “citizen’s vote” organized by the Paris town hall which approved by a small majority (54.55%) the tripling of parking rates for “heavy and polluting” vehicles. “. Of the approximately 1.3 million voters in the capital, 78,121 people (or 5.68%) went to one of the 38 polling places. A level of participation significantly lower than that recorded in April 2023. This vote brought together some 103,000 people, or 7.5% of those registered, who voted 85% in favor of banning scooters in self-service.
Anne Hidalgo, mayor of Paris, welcomed the “clear choice” reflected in this consultation, while observing “fairly strong East-West divisions”. The 16th arrondissement voted almost 82% against the town hall’s proposal which explicitly targeted SUVs, tall and heavy vehicles which represent practically half of registrations in France. In the 10th arrondissement, on the other hand, 76.8% defend the measure.
The municipal opposition group Changer Paris (right) denounced a “poorly put together and demagogic communications operation”. According to the Auto Infos site, the employers’ organization Mobilians and the Drivers’ Defense League have, for their part, taken legal action with the aim of canceling this vote and reclassifying it as a referendum.
12 to 18 euros per hour of parking
The question submitted to voters – “for or against the creation of a specific rate for the parking of heavy, bulky, polluting individual cars” – should lead to the tripling of the price of parking (raised to 12 or 18 euros per hour depending on the district) imposed on thermal or hybrid vehicles whose mass exceeds 1.6 tonnes (two tonnes for an electric vehicle).
Residents will not be affected by this increase, as will “sedentary professionals parked in their authorized parking zone, taxi drivers in dedicated stations, craftsmen, health professionals” and disabled people, according to the town hall. This estimates the additional revenue that this tariff revision could generate at 35 million euros and considers “that approximately 10% of the rolling stock” is affected. According to the company AAAData, this percentage would be more like 15% and would represent 130,000 vehicles in Paris.
By waiting for Lyon and Grenoble, Paris will join the list of cities having introduced increased pricing for the heaviest vehicles, including Washington and Tübingen, in Germany.