between implementation deadlines and lack of controls, very limited constraints

Low-emission zones, reported in other cities, remain relevant in Paris and Lyon, but the controls and sanctions do not seem to be effective in enforcing them.

Air quality is improving and the government has decided to relax the rules in low-emission zones (ZFE), that is to say in the largest cities, for the circulation of polluting vehicles. Thus, the Crit’Air 3 cars which were to be banned from January 2025 in Rouen, Strasbourg and Marseille will ultimately not be banned. Only Paris and Lyon will have to prohibit these vehicles from their city centers. But nothing seems to indicate that these bans will necessarily be accompanied by controls and dissuasive sanctions.

In theory, the minimum fine for non-compliance with an ZFE, that is to say driving with an unauthorized vehicle within its perimeter, is 68 euros for a car and 135 euros for a heavy goods vehicle. In reality, there is, it seems, little control and few fines drawn up: a little over a thousand in Paris in 2022. But, for the most part, it was a lack of sticker Crit’Air during pollution peaks.

Pedagogy and exemption

Elsewhere, we speak more of “pedagogy” and “derogation”. Education for six months, or even more: checks are limited to warning motorists that they must change vehicles if they want to continue driving, sometimes with financial aid from municipalities and urban areas.

And then, there are the exemptions: in Grenoble for example, it is possible to continue to travel in the ZFE for small drivers, who travel less than 5,000 kilometers per year, or even for workers working staggered hours, for people who travel for a health appointment. Finally, all vehicles can be driven outside office hours, in the evening or on weekends. Clearly, cities are reluctant to exclude the most vulnerable people, those who own the most polluting vehicles.

Promised automatic controls not yet in place

Automatic controls have been discussed for several years. The technology exists: you only need a few dozen well-placed cameras to photograph and read the plates of vehicles entering the ZFE. It works a bit like speed cameras: a quick comparison with the Crit’Air stickers and the offenders are immediately fined.

The cities concerned were to be equipped in 2023 then in 2024, in 2025… We are now talking about early 2026. The Ministry of Ecological Transition assures franceinfo that “the project is still in consultation”. Clearly, cities want the State to pay while the State would like cities and towns to also participate in financing this system.