Permanent Low Emission Zones in France explained
The French system for preventing urban and regional pollution is very comprehensive. France tries to curb air pollution with the help of six stickers called Certificat qualité de l'Air. The stickers categorise the different vehicles according to their pollutant emissions. Older vehicles that produce a lot of exhaust fumes get the worst class 5, or if they are even older, no sticker at all. In the meantime, you need such a sticker in many cities, as otherwise you will no longer have access and will have to pay high fines if you enter anyway.
Which French cities are planning or already have a permanently active low emission zone? There are currently six always-on zones, but there are plans for many more. In addition to the permanent zones, there are many more temporary zones that are activated only when necessary, when air pollution is particularly high.
Permanent environmental zones exist in the following cities: Grenoble, Paris, Lyon, Strasbourg, Reims and Rouen. But there are small differences that can make a big difference. In Grenoble, Rouen and Strasbourg, trucks and vans without a sticker or with stickers 5 and 4 are no longer allowed to enter. In Lyon, this also applies to sticker class 3. In Reims, all vehicles except motorbikes are affected by a driving ban if they do not have a sticker or sticker 5. In Paris, on the other hand, no vehicles are allowed to enter that drive without a sticker or only have a sticker 5 or 4. The Paris zone in which these rules apply includes the entire city area within the small Péripherique ring, but also 47 of the 79 municipalities located within the much larger ring, the A86 motorway. In addition, the sticker requirement applies to individual municipalities that lie outside the A86. In the course of the coming years, the rules of the individual environmental zones, not only in Paris, will become more and more stringent.
Other cities and metropolitan areas are also planning to introduce permanent zones. Other candidates include the conurbations of Toulouse, Marseille, Nice, Toulon, Marseille and Montpellier. These cities are legally obliged to quickly create an environmental zone. In the medium term, there are as many as 150 conurbations that will have to introduce a permanent Low Emission Zone in the course of the next few years, unless the air quality in these areas improves significantly.
Not easy to keep track of all this. With the Green-Zones app, you always know exactly when and where you can drive with which sticker!