Parisians no longer want to see SUVs on their streets. The capital’s residents voted this Sunday in favor of a new measure to triple the parking fee for “heavy, polluting, and bulky” vehicles. The “for” vote won with 54.55%, according to official results. It is worth noting the very low turnout, as only 5.7% of registered voters participated in the vote.
“Despite strong divisions between the east and west, the choice of Parisians is very clear in all districts,” reacted Anne Hidalgo, the mayor of Paris, this Sunday evening in front of journalists gathered at City Hall. “What won out is the desire of Parisians to impose a specific rate.”
However, the implementation of this new measure is not imminent. Parisian officials must first discuss it in May next year at the Paris Council. If the tariff increase is adopted, it will take several months for the city to implement it.
In the capital, the weekend had been marked by campaigns for and against SUVs. Environmental activists had not held back in their poster campaigns, and the coalition “La Rue est à nous” had flooded the mailboxes of residents of the 12th arrondissement with a letter encouraging them to place the “for a specific rate” ballot in the ballot box. At the same time, anger was growing among the other camp of motorists, seeing this citizen vote as a new “anti-car” crusade. Pierre Chasseray, the general delegate of the association 40 Millions d’automobilistes, which challenges the very principle of the vote, confirmed this Sunday evening that his association will challenge the order setting the special rates if it is adopted.
Aiming only at the vehicles of “visitors”, the surcharge will not affect Parisians who benefit from a resident rate.
