We get to the heart of the matter. After several cities such as Strasbourg, Grenoble or Toulouse, it will soon be Bordeaux’s turn to set up a ZFE, Low Emission Zone, in application of the “Climate and Resilience” law. The ZFE must gradually exclude the most polluting vehicles from the circulation of large cities.
Before definitively recording the terms and schedule, Bordeaux Métropole is starting a consultation phase with the general public this month, which will start on Wednesday November 16 with a stand in Parempuyre, and will continue with a public meeting in Bordeaux on November 22. .
A highly sensitive subject, because potentially explosive at the social level, the ZFE promises to be a battleground between the different political clans of the metropolitan assembly. Leader of the departmental Modem, the opponent Fabien Robert decided to start the hostilities, launching this Thursday a poster campaign: “ZFE = Prohibition of circulation? Less polluting without excluding, it is possible. “He will receive on Saturday the MP Modem of Yvelines Bruno Milliennewho carried out a flash mission on support measures for ZFEs, before going to meet residents and elected officials.
“Beware of the acceptability of this measure”
How does the environmentalist and socialist majority of Bordeaux Métropole envisage the deployment of the ZFE, knowing that its implementation must take place no later than January 1, 2025? We already know that its perimeter will be inside the ring road, which is not included in the device. “Two proposed timetables have been presented to elected officials, explains Claudine Bichet, EELV vice-president in charge of climate, energy transition and health, with in both cases a first phase in 2024 which will only concern the ban Crit’Air 4 and 5 vehicles [c’est-à-dire les moteurs diesel d’avant 2006 et les essence d’avant 1997], i.e. 10% of the vehicles circulating in the metropolis. Afterwards, we have a scenario that includes the Crit’Air 3 from 2025 [diesel d’avant 2011 et essence d’avant 2006] and another more progressive one where they would only be affected in 2027.”
If the elected ensures “that at this stage no decision has been made”, the opponent Fabien Robert is worried about these options. “I am for the ZFE, he explains, but depending on how this subject is treated, it can be rejected, even provoke indignation, especially within certain territories. In view of the economic crisis we are going through, we must adapt the timetable, and postpone the ban on circulation of Crit’Air 4 and 5 to December 31, 2024, and that of Crit’Air 3 to 2027 or even 2028. 38% of the poorest households have a Crit’Air 4 or 5, compared to an average of 15% of metropolitan households. It is therefore clear that the first to be affected will be the poorest households. We have known the “yellow vests”, I say: pay attention to the acceptability of this measure. »
Air pollution causes “600 deaths per year” in the metropolis
“If we really want a significant impact on air quality, the Crit’Air 3 are the hinge, and it is from their ban that we will measure real benefits”, analyzes for her part Claudine Bichet, who recalls that air pollution in the metropolis is responsible for “600 deaths per year with an associated cost of 300 million euros. “But it is true that in the current context, we are aware that it seems unlikely to ban Crit’Air 3 from 2025. However, the subject remains open, and we are willing to discuss it. »
For Crit’Air 4 and 5 vehicles, the most plausible scenario would be “to start their traffic ban during 2024, but with an educational phase initially, to be ready on January 1, 2025, knowing that the control system automated that the State must put in place, will not be ready before the second half of 2024.
The situation on “catastrophic” electric charging stations
At the same time, it will be necessary to financially support the households concerned in changing their vehicle, and the elected environmentalist points out “the failures of the State in this matter” which will force the metropolis to come out of its pocket around 40 million euros. “Furthermore, people from outside metropolitan France will not be helped at the same level as people from mainland France, which poses a serious problem of equity in the treatment of residents. Everything does not stop at the borders of the metropolis, it is a subject of a metropolitan area. »
Fabien Robert recalls for his part that the Head of State has announced his intention to help the most modest households to acquire a small electric vehicle for 100 euros per month. “But what about charging stations, he asks. The situation in mainland France is catastrophic, and for the moment there is no chance of being resolved since the majority’s ambition is to set up 20 stations in 2023, and a “ramp up” in 2024. with 25 stations… When are we going to step on the accelerator? And I’m not even talking about the metropolitan mobility plan, which is not up to standard. »
Vice-president EELV defends retrofit and bio-NGV
Claudine Bichet, for her part, defends “the retrofit of vehicles [passage des véhicules thermiques à l’électrique] rather than the systematic purchase of a new electric vehicle, and bio-NGV for the heaviest vehicles. » « It’s not just electricity, which isn’t the miracle solution. She also defends an “ambitious” mobility plan, even if “the implementation of transport infrastructure takes time, she acknowledges. And we would like the State to invest more on the subject of railway infrastructure as well. »
After the consultation phase which will be held in the 14 cities of the metropolis concerned, until the end of the first quarter of 2023, the decisions on the implementation of the ZFE will be taken during the course of next year.
Find all the dates of the public consultations on the metropolis website