Parisians voted 54.55% in favor of tripling parking rates for tall and heavy cars, known as SUVs, in the capital on Sunday February 4, according to the official results of the vote. The participation rate was 5.68% across the capital.

According to the municipality’s project, visitors whose thermal or plug-in hybrid vehicles exceed 1.6 tonnes, or two tonnes for an electric vehicle, will therefore have to pay 18 euros per hour for the central districts, and 12 euros for the outer districts. , once the measure is put in place following a decision by the Paris Council. However, residents parking in their neighborhood and professionals, including taxis, will not be affected.

The deliberation will be presented in May for application on September 1, indicated Anne Hidalgo when the results were announced at City Hall. The mayor welcomed a “clear choice by Parisians” in favor of a measure “good for our health and good for the planet”.

“What a lovely evening! » had written Barthelemy Bolo, Anne Hidalgo’s press advisor, on X shortly before the publication of the results of the vote.

Low participation rate

A little over 78,000 voters came to one of the 38 voting locations, out of around 1.3 million registered voters, to vote “for or against the creation of a specific rate for car parking heavy, bulky, polluting individual products. Specifically targeted were SUVs, the English acronym for “Sport Utility Vehicle”, with characteristics combining “those of a passenger car with those of a utility vehicle”, and 4x4s.

Some came to defend “ecology”, others to try to sanction the “diktats” of the municipality. Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo (Socialist Party, PS) voted at an elementary school in the 15th arrondissement shortly before 6 p.m.

Fight against pollution and road safety

In the capital, which has already pedestrianized the quays of the Seine and greened two hundred streets, PS mayor Anne Hidalgo justified the vote by the fight against pollution, better sharing of public space and “road safety”. , accidents involving an SUV being according to the town hall “twice as fatal for pedestrians as with a standard car”.

The NGO WWF describes SUVs as an “aberration” in the face of global warming: they are “200 kilos heavier, 25 cm longer, 10 cm wider” than a standard car. And require more materials for their manufacture, consume 15% more fuel and emit 20% more CO2 than a sedan.

Unsurprisingly, motorist associations have criticized the town hall’s initiative. SUV is a “marketing name” which “means nothing”, reacts Yves Carra, spokesperson for the Mobilité Club France.

10% of the fleet concerned

For the right-wing opposition, this “demonstrates the extent of the manipulation of the City, which targets SUVs in its communication when in reality, any type of vehicle is likely to be affected by the standards submitted to the vote” .

According to the town hall, the surcharge would concern “around 10% of the park” and could bring in around 35 million additional revenue. This vote is the second in the capital, after the one which ratified the eviction of self-service scooters in April 2023, during which some 103,000 people voted.

This time, it’s “a little less” participation “than for scooters”, but it’s a “very good result”, commented Anne Hidalgo, anticipating other votes to “resolve questions which are part of our daily lives.