“For or against the creation of a specific rate for the parking of heavy, bulky, polluting individual cars? » This is the question that Parisians are called to answer on February 4.
Three weeks before the citizens’ vote organized by the City of Paris, our colleagues from BFMTV reveal an OpinionWay* survey carried out for the Respire association and its partner NGOs. And the result seems clear: 62% of Parisians are in favor of the creation of a specific rate for SUV parking.
70% under conditions
Better, this score even rises to 70% “if the increase in parking for SUVs is subject to conditions”. Namely that additional revenue be invested in improving mobility in Paris (39% of them), that this increase only concerns non-residential parking (20%) or that exceptions be provided for low-income households (12% of those in favor).
If the proposal made by Paris City Hall is voted on, parking rates will increase from 6 to 18 euros per hour in the central districts of Paris (1st to 11th) and from 4 to 12 euros in the peripheral districts ( from the 12th to the 20th). The vehicles concerned would be thermal vehicles weighing more than 1.6 tonnes and electric vehicles from 2 tonnes with a few exceptions.
Unsurprisingly, the first motivation of those questioned concerns air pollution in Paris (91%), traffic difficulties (84%) and noise pollution (83%). Overall, 75% consider these vehicles too “cumbersome”.
The poll is not the vote
A royal road for the vote and application of the measure? Not so sure. Firstly because among those surveyed, only 15% own an SUV. However, according to the AAA Data agency, SUVs represent 26.6% of the automobile fleet in Paris. In certain districts, such as the 8th or 9th, this proportion reaches 40%.
Certainly, these owners are not affected, as residents, by the measure. But a quick tour of social networks shows that this point is very poorly known among users, and many owners fear that the measure will open the door to others, more restrictive, for their automobile.
Participation to be monitored but reasons for hope
Another point to watch out for is participation. Like the one organized in 2023 which led to the ban on self-service scooters since September 1, there is no guarantee that Parisians will travel en masse. On April 2, only 7.46% of those registered on the electoral lists came to the polls to answer the town hall’s question.
A quick tour of the polling stations allowed us to note that the voters were rather older, rather wealthy. Not necessarily representative of the inhabitants of the capital (no no!). Moreover, the OpinionWay survey shows that 31% of Parisians have not heard of the vote on February 4. And among those who are aware, 22% say they do not know “precisely what it is about”.
There remain strong reasons for hope for the municipality. The three weeks that separate us from the vote to communicate even more. But also, and above all, the possibility which was given to district mayors to ask a subsidiary question on the subject of their choice. Thus, six town halls will ask a question on important subjects, capable of attracting those registered, such as the town hall of the Center which will ask its residents for their opinion on a significant redevelopment of the Place du Louvre making more room for pedestrians, vegetation and public transport.
*OpinionWay survey for the Respire and Clean Cities association, sample of 847 people, representative of the Parisian population aged 18 and over