“This is a serious decision, fraught with consequences”: the assembly removes the obligation of the ZFE, the polluting vehicles soon back in the city center?
A ZFE sign. © Shutterstock
The National Assembly voted in the evening on Tuesday, May 28, the abolition of ZFEs, these areas supposed to limit the circulation of polluting vehicles in the city. A controversial amendment, supported by parties of all stripes, which could upset French urban environmental policy.
ZFE: A tool that has become too political?
Introduced by the mobility orientation law in 2019, The ZFEs aimed to ban access to the most polluting vehicles (Crit’Air 5, then 4 and 3) in certain urban areas. In 2024, thirteen metropolises were concerned: Paris, Lyon, Marseille, Grenoble, Strasbourg, Toulouse, Nice, Rouen, Reims, Montpellier, Toulon, Clermont-Ferrand and Saint-Étienne.
As of January 1, 2025, The Crit’Air 3 were to be excluded from several ZFEsespecially in intra-peripheral Paris. But this calendar has just been pulverized.
Map of France of the agglomerations concerned by the ZFE before the vote © Action Action Climate
The vote of the Assembly removes article L2213-4-1 of the general code of local authorities, which made the ZFEs compulsory for areas in exceeding pollution thresholds with nitrogen dioxide. Clearly, town halls will always be able to maintain a ZFE … but without a national obligation. “Let’s give back freedom to the French!”tweeted the far-right deputy Éric Ciotti, greeting the end of a “Technocratic tool for exclusion from the middle and popular classes of city centers”.
It is a serious decision, heavy with consequences. Elected officials give up protecting the health of their fellow citizens, at the very moment when pollution peaks worsen.
A transpartisan vote, explosive effects
This is one of the most noticed facts in the vote: it transcends the usual cleavages. National rally, republicans, rebellious France and some socialist voices supported the amendment. Only the presidential majority tried to oppose it, without success. For Marine Le Pen, “It is not a defeat for ecology, but for punitive ecology”. On the left, Gabriel Amard (LFI) insists: “Ecology, yes, but popular. Before punishing motorists, they must be offered free and reliable transport.”
The state in difficulty, Europe in ambush
Agnès Pannier-Runacher, Minister of Ecological Transition, went up to the niche: “The challenge is the right to live in good health. Air pollution is responsible for 40,000 premature deaths each year.” And the risk is also budgetary: France has received 3.3 billion euros in European funds linked to the implementation of ZFEs. Brussels could claim a refund if the country unilaterally withdraws from its commitment.
And now, then? The text must still go to the Senate. In the event of approval, the ZFEs will cease to be compulsory, leaving each community free to decide. Some, like Paris or Lyon, could maintain their devices. Others, more rural or peripheral, will relieve it quickly, under electoral pressure.
On the side of environmental associations, the reaction is scathing. Tony Renucci, director of breathing, denounces: “It is a serious decision, heavy with consequences. Elected officials give up protecting the health of their fellow citizens, at the very moment when pollution peaks get worse.”
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