In France, old, polluting cars are once again allowed to drive in the city center. After all, the French parliament has decided to abolish the environmental sticker and low-emission zones – measures intended to reduce pollution in cities.
The ‘zones à faibles émissions’ (ZFE), as they are called in France, were introduced in 2021 with the aim of banning the most polluting traffic from 42 French urban areas by 2025. France used the Crit’Air sticker system to classify cars from clean (electric) to highly polluting (diesel and older gasoline).
However, the measure has met with increasing resistance in recent years. Opponents considered it discriminatory because people on lower incomes often cannot afford a new, less-polluting car. People commuting from suburbs/rural areas also depend on their cars.
Crystal clear
The environmental sticker also came under fire because many French people found the system impractical and confusing. Different cities had different timelines and restrictions.
The vote in the French parliament was crystal clear: both the right and the left voted for abolition (224 for and 100 against). The outcome of the vote may come as a surprise in a country where 40,000 people die /radio. The decision could also cost France dearly. The European Union already condemned the country in 2022 for exceeding pollution standards.
However, the abolition is not yet certain; the Council of State can still lodge an objection.
What about other European countries?
Today, no major country has fully scrapped them like France is attempting, but there is pushback and softening. In Germany, many cities have low-emission zones, but some restrictions have been relaxed or removed as air quality improved.
London, on the other hand, has even expanded its ultra-low-emission zone, although there is strong backlash. Amsterdam and Rotterdam, in the Netherlands, are gradually tightening their zero-emission zones, as the Dutch call them, while in Belgium, low-emission zones are still active in Brussels, Antwerp, and Ghent.
Belgium
Belgium actually has one of the more established LEZ systems in Europe, covering multiple cities. In Antwerp, the low-emission zone was introduced in 2017, and the city has a strong camera enforcement system.
Ghent introduced its LEZ in 2020; it is combined with a broader car-light city strategy. The Brussels LEZ started in 2018. Belgium is more structurally committed, and the political landscape is different – Green parties strongly support LEZs.
