Anne Hidalgo wants to triple SUV parking prices in Paris

The bill promises to be steep for fans of “big cars”. As she announced last month, Paris town hall Anne Hidalgo will invite Parisians “to vote on a very significant increase in non-residential parking rates for SUVs and 4X4s” during a vote scheduled for February 4 next. We now know the extent of the increase planned by the municipality: the City of Paris will propose a tripling of parking rates for tall and heavy cars called SUVs.

Concretely, if “yes” wins to the question “For or against the creation of a specific rate for the parking of heavy, bulky, polluting individual cars?”, SUV drivers will have to pay a rate hourly rate of 18 euros for the central districts and 12 euros for the outer districts, said his mobility assistant David Belliard (EELV). The town hall has set the weight thresholds for applying these rates at “1.6 tonnes for thermal and hybrid vehicles” and “2 tonnes for electric vehicles”. However, “in the event of a yes victory, Parisian residents and professionals will not be affected”, nor disabled people who have the supporting documents, she indicated. Free parking will be maintained for all vehicles at night and on Sundays, she said.

The town hall's initiative "aims to accelerate this ecological transition in which we tackle air pollution" because "the bigger it is, the more it pollutes", said the elected socialist about SUVs. In addition to this health issue, limiting the presence of SUVs in the capital with these tripled prices aims to improve “road safety, because the bigger it is, the greater the risk of accident, particularly for children or members of the public. fragile,” explained Ms. Hidalgo. The “third reason” which justifies the vote is to “better share public space which is not free”. According to Mr. Belliard, thermal and hybrid cars weighing more than 1.6 tonnes represent “around 10% of the fleet”.

On a constant basis, out of around 70,000 car parking tickets generated every day in the capital, 7,000 SUVs would therefore be affected, he told AFP. According to Ms. Hidalgo, these price increases could bring additional revenue of 35 million euros for the city. The vote will take place in 36 voting locations and only in person, without proxy or electronic voting, indicated the Deputy Secretary General of the City Laurence Girard.

If this turn of the screw is validated by Parisians, it will be applied “in the months following the vote,” indicated Anne Hidalgo. However, Paris will not be the first city to take strong measures against SUVs. In Lyon, a city led by elected environmentalist Grégory Doucet, residents have already spoken out in favor of such restrictions. In the capital of Gaul, monthly residential rates will increase from 20 euros today to three new rates, between 15 and 45 euros depending on the size of the vehicle.

The fact remains that certain opposition elected officials intend to make a dissonant voice heard and, if possible, influence Parisians in favor of “no”. Very critical of the project, the Changer Paris group, chaired by the mayor of the 7th Rachida Dati, has already expressed its exasperation. The outcome of the vote “will not be a great mystery”, deplores Jean-Pierre Lecoq, mayor of the 6th arrondissement. “Isn’t security a pretty important issue, with for example a vote on arming the Municipal Police? Why not ask residents for their opinion on the city's finances when Parisian debt continues to grow? Parisians.