“Our wish is to cancel this contract” between motorway companies and the State, assured franceinfo Julien Bayou, national secretary of Europe Ecology the Greens (EELV), in reaction to the increase of around 2% in the price of tolls on February 1. The contracts that bind the motorway companies to the State provide for an automatic increase in toll rates every year on this date, depending in particular on inflation and works undertaken on the network.
For this support of the environmental candidate for the Elysée, Yannick Jadot, this contract is “perfectly unbalanced” because “there is no commitment from motorway concessionaires” corn “on the other hand, they have the right to increase prices faster than inflation, without consumers having a say”. “It’s an incredible gift given to motorway concessionaires by the right” and “it’s racketeering”, he insisted, pointing to former Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin as well as Emmanuel Macron. Inflation in France accelerated to 1.6% over the whole of 2021, on annual average, according to INSEE, the highest since 2018.
Price of tolls ➡️ “It’s an incredible gift given to motorway dealers from the right” estimates the boss of the Greens. “It’s racketeering. We want to cancel the contract” which adds that we want to “modulate the price according to income” or use. pic.twitter.com/OE1ZEz8Q81
— franceinfo (@franceinfo) February 3, 2022
Julien Bayou also pleads for a “modulation” toll rates “depending on the level of pollution or the level of user income, for example”. “There are people who are absolutely dependent on the car who pay exactly the same price as the person who uses it for leisurehe pointed out. You can have subscriptions for people who are dependent on the car”he said.
Like Yannick Jadot, Julien Bayou is in favor of reducing speed on the motorway. “On speed, there is obviously an issue of pollution by greenhouse gas emissions and a road safety issue”did he declare. “There is a track, which is to explore” a speed limit “at 120 km/h”a “good referee” according to him “because it does not really increase the duration of the journey”. Furthermore, “it limits fuel consumption so it’s also a stake for the wallet”.
Price of tolls ➡️ “It’s an incredible gift given to motorway dealers from the right” estimates the boss of the Greens. “It’s racketeering. We want to cancel the contract” which adds that we want to “modulate the price according to income” or use. pic.twitter.com/OE1ZEz8Q81
— franceinfo (@franceinfo) February 3, 2022
In favor of 80 km / h on secondary roads, Julien Bayou is also pushing for a reduction in the speed limit in urban areas. “We want to generalize the 30 zones” in all the cities of France, he said, because “we don’t need to drive fast”. “Let’s think of pedestrians and cyclists”he launched, while insisting on the fact “that we never reach the dream speed of 50 km/h” because “the cities are saturated”.