Established in France since 2015, the ZFE (low-emission zones) were to follow a linear deployment: by the end of 2024, France had 12 operational zones, with the plan to ban diesel vehicles before 2011 and gasoline vehicles before 2006 by the end of this year.
This was without counting on the deputies, who voted this Wednesday, May 26, in the committee of the draft law to simplify economic life, for the pure and simple abolition of these zones. The reason given: ZFEs, behind their environmental ambition, would penalize the most modest budgets, by prohibiting them from driving in certain urban areas.
Indeed, only the least polluting vehicles, bearing a Crit'Air sticker attesting to their level, are authorized to circulate in the urban areas concerned. However, the deputies believe, state aid for the purchase of a new vehicle, which is necessarily less polluting, is largely insufficient. Furthermore, each city is free to set its own traffic criteria, based on its air pollution level.
An unpopular measure, doomed to disappear?
The implementation of ZFEs has always been divisive, both on the right and the left. Submitted by deputies from Les Républicains and Rassemblement National, the amendments that led to the committee vote this Wednesday, March 26, still have to go before the deputies of the National Assembly, then before the Senate. The debate is therefore far from over. Especially since if the ZFEs are to... disappear, it will be necessary to find another concrete solution to limit air pollution in the city.
“The solution is not to abolish the law, poor air quality still causes thousands of deaths, specifies Nicolas Mayer-Rossignol, Socialist mayor of Rouen, and president of the Rouen Normandy Metropolis on France TV, who points out that “the ZFE come from European regulations. France has been condemned for its inaction on air pollution. The problem is that the state has not lived up to this European regulation.“
What is a ZFE?
A Low Emission Zone (ZFE) is an urban area where access to the most polluting vehicles is restricted to improve air quality and protect public health. In France, these zones are based on the Crit'Air sticker system, classifying vehicles from 0 (low polluting) to 5 (highly polluting), and gradually banning older models. Initially introduced in cities like Paris and Lyon, they have been mandatory in urban areas with more than 150,000 inhabitants since 2025.
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