Citizen consultation

Paris votes today on expensive parking for SUVs

In a referendum today, the people of Paris can decide whether parking fees for SUVs in public parking lots should be tripled in the future.

(Bild: APA/AFP/Dimitar Dilkoff)

The French capital Paris is declaring war on heavy sport utility vehicles (SUVs). In a referendum today, the population can decide whether parking fees for SUVs in public parking lots should be tripled in future.

SUVs will soon have to pay 225 euros for six hours of parking in the city center and 150 euros in the suburbs. Just one hour's parking would then cost 18 euros instead of the usual six euros, and twelve euros instead of four euros in the outskirts.

More pollution from heavy vehicles
If you park for several hours, the charges already rise disproportionately with increasing duration. The city's argument for higher charges for SUVs is that the heavy vehicles cause more pollution, take up a lot of public space and also endanger road safety.

The city council was heavily criticized even before the vote. The automobile club "40 millions d'automobilistes" has already launched a petition entitled "Stop the fight against SUVs", as other major French cities such as Lyon, Bordeaux and Grenoble are also set to introduce increased parking fees for heavy vehicles.

46 percent of new registrations are SUVs
The automobile club calls this a hidden measure to make driving in cities more difficult for as many people as possible. In the first half of 2023, 46 percent of new registrations in France were SUVs, which shows that the cars are popular. The main victims of the increased parking tariffs are families who treat themselves to a car with more space. It is foreseeable that the restrictions will be tightened overall. "Don't kid yourself: This fight against SUVs is just a back door to eradicate the car as a whole."

Meanwhile, the special tariff for large cars is intended to limit the nuisance they cause, the city emphasizes. "This vote should be a message to car manufacturers. Their quest for profit, which consists of deliberately selling ever larger, more fuel-efficient and more expensive vehicles, is jeopardizing ecological change." By voting on Sunday, the population could calm the public space and support a new social model.

In Paris, the fight against cars with increased ground clearance, also known as city SUVs, is part of a traffic turnaround that has been driven forward for years by the socialist mayor Anne Hidalgo and the red-green city government. In the face of considerable opposition, Hidalgo closed a number of riverside roads along the Seine to cars and made them accessible to pedestrians.

30 km/h introduced almost everywhere
The cycle path network in Paris is growing, which means that the number of car lanes and parking spaces is being reduced. New green spaces are being created and a 30 km/h speed limit has been introduced almost everywhere in the city.