Paris votes to triple cost of parking SUVs in city

Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo said the referendum was good for the city, good for the environment, and good for democracy, despite the 5.6% turnout.

An SUV car drives on the Champs Elysees avenue, near to the Arc de Triomphe. Picture: Michel Euler/AP

Paris has voted to triple the cost of parking large sports utility vehicles (SUVs) in an effort to push polluting vehicles out of the city.

However, the vote was not a landslide in favour of the move, as had been generally predicted, with 54.5% in favour of the move and 45.45% against. Turnout was very low at just 5.6% of the electorate, with 78,121 out of 1,374,531 people voting.

Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo said the referendum was good for the city, good for the environment, and good for democracy.

The new charges will target heavy SUVs coming into the city, costing €225 to park for six hours in central Paris and €150 for six hours in some less central areas.

The referendum asked whether “the heaviest, bulkiest, and most polluting SUVs in the capital” should face triple the parking charge for non-residents, rising from €6 to €18 an hour in central Paris and from €4 to €12 an hour in the rest of the city. After the first two hours, those parking fees would rise further.

Traditional combustion engine or hybrid vehicles weighing more than 1.6 tonnes will be subject to the proposed charge, while drivers of electric vehicles (EVs) weighing more than two tonnes will also have to pay the increased charge.

Parisians with residents’ parking will not be impacted by the changes and other exemptions, including for healthcare workers and people with mobility problems, would also be made.

David Belliard, a deputy mayor of Paris, previously called for a total ban on the vehicles.

“SUVs consume more, pollute more, and cause more fatal accidents in the city,” he wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

Pollution levels in Paris are above recommended limits set by the World Health Organization, according to air-quality watchdog Airparif.

Outside a polling centre in the Marais neighbourhood yesterday, Betty Jean said the vote was important.

“Micro particles [in pollution that can travel deep into the respiratory tract and cause serious illness] are very dense in Paris,” said Dr Jean.

“We know that micro particles increase asthma of the kids and also maybe cardiovascular disease. As a doctor, I am very sensitive to this.”

“Scientific papers prove there is an increase of almost 17,000 deaths due to pollution in France. So the first step is to reduce these big cars in cities.”

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