Paris to vote on SUVs in second citizen referendum

Following a vote in April which led to rental e-scooters being banned in the French capital, Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo has announced that the second referendum will focus on higher parking fees for sports utility vehicles (SUVs).

In a video posted online, Hidalgo said: “More or fewer SUVs in Paris? This is the question I am asking you for this second citizens’ vote.”

The vote will take place on February 4. Hidalgo is proposing a “very significant” increase in the price of non-residential parking for SUVs in Paris, but City Hall has not shared details on the specific amount.

The city said that SUVs typically weigh 200 kg more than a standard vehicle and are 25 cm longer and 10 cm wider. The vote aims to address “safety, sharing of public space and pollution”.

According to the city: “While the importance of cars in Paris has continued to decrease over the past ten years, at the same time, the average size of cars has increased in the capital.”

“Many of you complain that there are still too many big polluting SUVs taking up more space on our streets and on our sidewalks,’’ Hidalgo said, adding that a pedestrian is twice as likely to be killed in the event of a collision with an SUV as with a standard vehicle.

She said she hopes the vote will send a message to carmakers to stop “pushing [people] to buy ever-bigger, more expensive, more resource-guzzling, more polluting’’ vehicles.

E-scooters

The proposed increase would apply to non-residential parking rates.

It would affect owners of an internal combustion engine or plug-in hybrid vehicle weighing 1.6 tonnes or more, or an electric vehicle weighing over 2 tonnes. Parisians parking in their residential parking zone would not be affected. Drivers with disabilities, taxis and emergency vehicles would also be exempt.

Parking will remain free for all in the evenings from 8pm and on Sundays and holidays.

In April, voters in Paris opted to ban rental e-scooters from the streets of the French capital.

Almost 90 percent of those who voted were in favour of banning the vehicles. Of the 1.38 million people on the city’s electoral register, just over 103,000 took part in the ballot – or eight percent of eligible voters.

At the time, French transport minister, Clement Beaune, said the ‘for or against’ referendum had “caricatured and dumbed down the debate” about e-scooters.

The SUV vote will be held on 4 February 2024 in all districts of Paris.