Paris is set to hold its referendum on Sunday 4 February to determine whether SUVs should face higher parking costs in the city centre.
If passed, the vote will triple parking rates to as much as €18 per hour in parts of the capital for all diesel, petrol and hybrid cars heavier than 1.6 tonnes, and for all electric cars above two tonnes.
Set in motion by Paris Mayor Anna Hidalgo, the referendum follows a vote to ban e-scooters in the French capital last year.
Jens Mueller, Deputy Director of the Clean Cities Campaign, told Zag Daily: “We are hoping for a ‘yes’ vote in the referendum so that Paris can show leadership on regulating large vehicles in urban areas.
“Leaders in other European cities will surely be watching and cannot sit by as ever larger and heavier cars invade our neighbourhoods.”
Indeed, backlash against the growing number of SUVs has arisen from environmental NGOs, local authorities and governments in recent months. A report by the Global Fuel Economy Initiative (GFEI) found last year that CO2 emissions could have fallen by 30% between 2010 and 2022 had the SUV trend not taken off.
A poll conducted by OpinionWay, and released by Clean Cities and the anti-air pollution charity Respire, found that 61% of Parisians support the introduction of parking charges based on vehicle weight.
Of the 1019 respondents, 30% said they are ‘strongly in favour’ of increased parking charges for large SUVs and 31% said they are ‘in favour’ of the decision.
If the referendum, which will be held in all districts of Paris, passes the vote then those living or working in Paris, taxi drivers, tradespeople, health workers and disabled drivers would be exempt from the result.
