Paris votes to drive SUVS off the road by tripling fees

Mayor Hidalgo’s plan to punish drivers of heavier cars means they now have to pay £15 an hour to park

PARISIANS have voted in favour of tripling parking fees for out-of-town SUV drivers in a referendum vote that was closer than expected.

At 222 polling stations set up across the city yesterday, Parisians were asked the question: “For or against the creation of a specific rate for the parking of heavy, bulky polluting individual cars?”

Those in favour edged out those against with just 55per cent of the vote. Polling last month put support for mayor Anne Hidalgo’s anti-suv referendum at 61per cent.

Of the 1.3 million eligible voters, less than 6per cent, around 78,120 people, voted, fewer than the 7per cent who voted for the mayor’s escooter rentals ban last Spring.

“Parisians want to limit the place of these vehicles in our streets for reasons of road safety and for reasons of pollution. This is a source of pride for us,” Ms Hidalgo said after carrying the vote.

Drivers of SUVS will now have to pay €18 (£15.50) an hour to park in the centre – three times the current price of €6. Elsewhere in the city, their parking rates will rise from €4 to €12. The bylaw will apply to all combustion engine or plug-in hybrid vehicles weighing more than 1.6tonnes, and electric vehicles weighing more than two tonnes. The city estimates the increase will generate an extra €35 million.

The new parking levies will affect popular models such as the Land Rover Discovery and Jeep Wrangler, but won’t apply to Paris residents, taxi drivers, health professionals and parking permit holders for people with disabilities.

Last week, Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London, said he will be watching the results closely, telling The Guardian: “We always examine policies around the globe. I’m a firm believer in stealing good policies.”

Ms Hidalgo’s offensive against SUVS portrays them as a menace to street safety and air quality. The vehicles account for about 40 per cent of new car sales in France.

And because of their size, collisions between SUVS and pedestrians or cyclists are twice as likely to be fatal compared to a standard car, the city argued.

Meanwhile, figures from the International Energy Agency show that in 2022, SUVS alone were responsible for one billion tonnes of CO2 emissions. For context, if SUVS were a country, they would rank as the sixth most polluting country in the world.

“There’s no need for big cars like that,” Jacques Milman, 64, a musician and cyclist, told The Telegraph after voting for the plan. Deborah Schlumberger, 30, who also voted in favour, added: “I want to live in a city that’s more peaceful and healthier.”

Opponents criticised the plan as shortsighted, with some claiming smaller, older cars can be more polluting than new SUVS.

Paris is not the first city to penalise SUV drivers. They already pay more to park in part of Montreal, in Canada, and in Tübingen, Germany. Last week, Lyon announced plans for a similar scheme, but didn’t put them to a public vote.