Nearly 500 motorcyclists marched this Saturday afternoon in Rouen and in the metropolis to denounce the establishment of the ZFE, the low emission zone, which aims to reduce air pollution. The French Federation of Angry Bikers believes that two-wheelers should not be affected.
Coming into force at the beginning of January, the ZFE will be more restrictive from 1 September. Two-wheelers registered before July 1, 2004, those with a Crit’air sticker 4 and 5, will no longer be able to drive or park in the city center and in a large part of the Rouen metropolitan area. A measurement unfair and inequitable for the FFMC, which had already gathered nearly a thousand bikers in March to denounce the measure.
“Motorized two-wheelers represent only 0.41% of pollution at the national level, explains Gwen-aël Lamoureux, one of the coordinators of the event. It is not by preventing motorcycles from circulating in the city that we will improve breathability.” On the contrary, according to him, the motorcycle is an asset in the ecological transition: “motorcycling makes traffic more fluid, and therefore it allows less pollution in the city.”
– Francois Breton
A substantial budget to change motorcycles
On the user side, we wonder how to organize after September 1, 2022. “I come almost every day to Rouen with my motorcycle which dates from 2001, details Didier, resident of Evreux. If the rules are imposed as planned, it will be impossible for me to go to the EPZ”
One of the solutions would be to replace his old two-wheeler with a newer model. A budget of several thousand euros that not everyone has David recalls: “Imagine someone who is unemployed. He will not be able to afford a motorcycle or a recent car to be able to meet the standards and enter the ZFE. These zones will therefore penalize those who cannot afford to get up to date.”
Bikers also believe that pollution from industrial sites and boats passing through the city should be limited. The FFMC therefore calls on the metropolis not to apply the criteria of the ZFE to motorcycles. The association hopes for discussions in the coming days.