Grenoble sues France
Grenoble is the first French city to sue the state for inaction on air pollution. Grenoble is demanding the annulment of the Plan for the Protection of the Atmosphere (PPA3) because the limits set are too high. So far, only individuals or associations had sued.
In France, the prefectures are responsible for developing an air protection plan, the so-called PPA's. Among other things, these plans set the limits of pollutants in the air. For Grenoble, the largest city in the Alps, 300 municipalities were consulted and new limit values were set. These limits are too low for the city of Grenoble. That is why the city has now sued the French state. The reason given is, on the one hand, that the geographical characteristics of the individual municipalities were completely disregarded and, on the other hand, that the limit threshold values are too low compared to the recommendations of the WHO (World Health Organisation).
Grenoble is particularly affected by pollution from industry and traffic due to its geographic basin location. Throughout the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, which includes major cities such as Lyon, Chambéry, Annecy and, of course, Grenoble, all cities regularly exceed the limit values and call for advance warnings in the weather-related environmental zones (ZPA) - as was the case in Grenoble just earlier this week - or activate driving bans.
In addition to a new plan to protect the air, the city of Grenoble is demanding funding for more extensive studies on public health and traffic pollution. In addition, the state should ensure that buildings such as schools and day-care centres are not built near sources of emissions. Old wood-fired heating systems, which are still very common in France, are to be gradually replaced, as are old vehicles, for which there is a bonus when they are disposed of. The mountain town is the first municipality that wants to hold the state accountable for bad air. So far, only individuals or associations have done so.
It is not yet clear whether and how the air pollution plan will be adapted. However, Grenoble does not want to wait with further measures. The local low emission zone (ZFE) will be tightened from July 2023. Cars and motor homes without an environmental sticker or with the French sticker 5 will then no longer be allowed to enter the city centre. You can find out about all the changes in good time in our Green-Zones app.