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DRIVING

Crit’Air: Drivers face €750 fines in France’s new low-emission zones

France's environment minister has announced a major extension of the city low-emission zones controlled by Crit'Air stickers, plus an increase in fines up to a maximum of €750.

Crit'Air: Drivers face €750 fines in France's new low-emission zones
French Gendarmes check the Crit'Air sticker in a car in Lille. Photo by JEAN-PIERRE CLATOT / AFP

Eleven French cities already have low-emission zones where older, more polluting cars are either banned altogether or limited to certain hours, controlled through vehicle stickers known as Crit’Air.

But on Tuesday Environment minister Christophe Béchu announced two big expansions to the scheme;

  • By the end of 2025 it will be extended to 43 urban areas – in all big cities and larger towns.
  • Enforcement will be stepped up through the use of automated cameras, while fines will be increased from the current level of €68 up to a maximum of €750.

The Crit’Air system requires all drivers – including the drivers of foreign-registered vehicles – going to any of the low-emission zones to get a sticker for their vehicle. The sticker assigns the vehicle a number from 0 (all electric vehicles) to 5 (the most polluting).

Local authorities then set their own rules, with some banning vehicles with a 4 or 5 sticker altogether, while others only allow them during evenings or weekends. In some places bans are extended on days when pollution levels rise.

You can find how to get the sticker HERE

After a meeting of the first inter-ministerial committee to monitor the low-emission zones (zones à faible émission or ZFE in French) on Tuesday, the minister announced a nationwide project to standardise regulations and ban certain vehicles from the zones, which generally encompass city and town centres.

From January 1st, 2023, Crit’Air 5 vehicles (diesel vehicles produced before 2001) will be affected by the ban. This will be followed on January 1st, 2024 by Crit’Air 4 (diesel before 2006) and on January 1st 2025 by Crit’Air 3 (diesel before 2011 and petrol/gasoline before 2006).

At present enforcement of the scheme is patchy and depends on local police making traffic stops to pull over drivers who either don’t have the sticker, or who are driving in areas where they are not permitted. However Béchu said that this will move to an automated control system involving cameras, although he did not reveal the exact detail of how this will work.

Transport minister Clément Beaune added: “The ZFEs are a necessity for ecological and public health reasons. It is necessary to do the maximum so that the automated control sanction is developed as soon as possible.”

Crit’Air violations will become a class 4 traffic offence – which attracts a maximum penalty of €750. 

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PARIS 2024 OLYMPICS

How Paris’s Olympic carpool lanes will work 

Throughout the Olympic and Paralympic Games periods, some 185km of lanes on roads around Paris will be reserved for event-related traffic – here’s what you need to know.

How Paris’s Olympic carpool lanes will work 

Between July 15th and September 11th, ‘Olympic lanes’ will be in use along certain stretches of key roads in and around Paris.

These lanes will be reserved for use by accredited vehicles to transport athletes, accredited journalists and official delegations, as well as emergency and security vehicles, cabs, ambulances and public transport.

READ ALSO Apps, reservations and flying taxis: What to know before visiting Paris this summer

The lanes will be activated on July 15, on the following roads:

  • A1 between Roissy Charles de Gaulle and Porte de la Chapelle, until September 11th;
  • A4 between Collégien and Porte de Bercy until August 13th, then from August 30th to September 8th;
  • A12 between Rocquencourt and Montigny le Bretonneux until August 13th, and again from August 27th to September 8th;
  • A13 between Porte Maillot and Rocquencourt until August 13th, then from August 27th to September 8th;
  • Boulevard périphérique, from Porte de Vanves to Porte de Bercy, via the north until August 13th, then from August 22th to September 11th;
  • Boulevard Circulaire (La Défense) until August 13th, then from August 22nd to September 11th;
  • Lanes on certain routes in Paris.

None of these roads will be closed – lanes along these routes that are not reserved for Olympic or Paralympic Games traffic are open to road users as usual.

The lanes in question will be signposted – signs, clearly marked with the words “Paris 2024”, will be in place from July 1st, and will be removed by the end of the day on September 15h. 

READ ALSO How to use Paris public transport during the Olympics

Who can use dedicated Olympic lanes?

Only vehicles and road users that have been properly accredited by the Organising Committee of the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games can travel along these lanes during the periods indicated above. 

They include:

  • vehicles of accredited persons;
  • cabs;
  • public transport vehicles;
  • vehicles designed to facilitate the transport of people with reduced mobility;
  • and emergency and security vehicles.

READ ALSO Who needs a QR code to get around Paris during the Olympics

All other vehicles are prohibited from using these lanes throughout the Olympic Games period. Any vehicle circulating on an Olympic lane without having received prior authorisation is liable to a fine of €135 and possible further prosecution.

Road users without Olympic accreditation are advised to be aware of possible travel issues, as more vehicles are filtered into the other lanes. Therefore it would be wise to allow a little extra time for your journey if you are using one of the listed roads during the Games period.

An interactive map, showing routes with Olympic lanes is available here

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