Parisians vote to hit 4x4s with ramped up parking costs in latest green drive

Traffic on the Champs-Elysees in Paris (Alamy/PA)

Parisians voted on Sunday to muscle 4x4s off the French capital’s streets by making them much more expensive to park from the autumn, the latest leg in a drive by Socialist Mayor Anne Hidalgo to make the host city for this year’s Olympic Games greener.

More than 54% of the votes cast in the low-turnout election supported the measure to triple parking fees for large 4×4, or SUV, drivers from out of town to €18 per hour in the city’s centre, according to official results.