PARIS VOTES AGAINST SUVS IN THE CITY
If it’s up to the people of Paris SUVs will no longer be welcome in the city. That’s according to a referendum where the people of the French capital voted in favour of forcing owners of SUVs to pay expensive parking fees.
A total of 54.5% of Parisians voted in favour of the new bylaw, while 45.5% rejected the idea.
The referendum was held less than a year after the previous one where Parisians were asked to vote on banning e-scooters.
Under the new bylaw, cars weighing 1.6 tonnes or more will have to pay three times the parking fee. It comes down to 18 euros an hour. The idea is to discourage “bulky, polluting” cars and includes electric cars weighing 2 tonnes or more.
After the results were published, Mayor Anne Hidalgo said the voting was a form of resistance.
“We’re proud of having posed an eminently environmental question at a time when the environment is presented as the source of all evil. It’s a form of resistance here in Paris to this very concerning movement.”
Reuters reports that under Hidalgo, the streets of Paris have been transformed, with 84km of cycle lanes created since 2020 and a 71% jump in bike usage between the end of COVID-19 lockdowns and 2023.
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