Low Emission Zones are a hot subject at the moment in France, where parliament has just voted to delete these, but the deal is still subject to agreement by the Constitutional Council.

The European directive 2008/50 created these Low Emission Zones to decrease pollution in dense urban areas, but the French took it a step further : by banning every pre-2000 vehicle from city centres, law makers have sparked the anger of suburban citizens; those who were pushed out of city centers by rising housing costs are now also banned from using their vehicles there.

When the Low Emission Zones (LEZs) – or in French: ZFE, Zone à Faibles Emissions – were announced in France, the French motorcyclists’ association FFMC (Federation Francaise des Motards en Colère) – a member of FEMA – denounced the discrimination they would impose on those who could not afford to buy a new vehicle. The French LEZs gradually ban the use of older vehicles in major urban areas. FFMC has been quick to warn local authorities about the difficulty for drivers to implement and adapting to these new standards and started campaigning against them in 2012.

FFMC notes that LEZ are rejected by 78% of French citizens. FFMC further complains that the French LEZ are the harshest of all LEZs in the European Union, especially as it targets also powered two-wheelers. Since then, the seeds of anger have ripened, and the current protests sound like the ‘revenge of the yellow vests’ movement.

Politicians have been increasingly worried by these growing concerns within the population as the far right movement Rassemblement National has gained momentum by campaigning against ‘another dictate from Brussels’. An unlikely congregation of Members of the French parliament, originating from LFI (left ), LR (center right), and RN (far right) killed the French LEZ in a vote in the Parliament last week. The vote still needs to be confirmed, and is subject to the agreement of the Constitutional Council. The deletion of French LEZ would further create an issue with the EU according to directive 2008/50.

Quote of the day: “Environment protection without social justice is just gardening for the rich.” Marine Tondelier, leader of the French Green Party.

Written by Eric Thiollier (FFMC)

Photographs courtesy of FFMC

This article is subject to FEMA’s copyright