Diesel ban gets closer
This year the UK announced that it will become the first country amongst G7 countries to ban sales of new petrol & diesel vehicles with a ban starting from January 2030, whilst the European Union has set 2035 as the date for its ban on these sales to commence. France has held back from banning sales of new petrol & diesel vehicles until 2040 but this may be brought forward to 2035 in line with the EU, however in practice it will become more difficult to drive these vehicles on French roads sooner than that.
The Crit’Air scheme in France aims to reduce air pollution & has established ZFE’s (Low Emission Zones) around the country which restrict the access of petrol & diesel vehicles into many urban areas. In Paris the city council plans to ban entry of all vehicles (except Crit’Air 1, electric & hydrogen) by 2030 but before that, diesels & petrol (pre 2006) will be banned by 2024. Vehicles that are classed Crit’Air 5 are already banned from driving in the city from Monday to Friday, 8am to 8pm & pre 2006 diesels will be banned completely from June, 2021.
Other French cities are also expected to follow the lead set by Paris; Lyon the second largest city in France currently bans vehicles with a Crit’Air certificate of 4 or higher & its Low Emission Zone policy is under review but it intends to ban all diesels within its ZFE zone by 2026.
Strasbourg meanwhile will ban all Crit’Air 5 vehicles by 2022 & between 2023 to 2025 Crit’Air 4, 3 & 2 will be banned in annual stages with finally just Crit’Air 1 (electric & hydrogen) only being allowed.
For details of the Crit’Air scheme & how to apply for a sticker go to the Useful Info page.
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