Name of the environmental zone: Environmental zone ZFE Lille - France
Date of entry into effect of the zone: 01-03-2019
Type of environmental zone: Permanent
Not allowed to drive (temporarily): Information currently unavailable
Not allowed to drive (permanently): Permanent driving ban for trucks and vans with sticker 4, 5 and without sticker.
Fines: 68-450 €
Area/extension of the environmental zone: The Low Emission Zone covers 12 municipalities: Lille, Faches-Thumesnil, Haubourdin, Hellemmes, La Madeleine, Lambersart, Lomme, Loos, Marquette-lez-Lille, Ronchin, Saint-André-lez-Lille, Sequedin. In addition, the roads N356, A25 et l'A1 on the territory of these municipalities.
Special features: The Lille-ZFE zone is within the Lille-ZPA zone. When an air pollution alarm is triggered in the ZPA zone, its rules also apply in the ZFE zone.
Contact of the environmental zone and exceptions: Information currently unavailable
Exemptions: Information currently unavailable
Name of the environmental zone: Environmental zone Lille (Greater Lille) ZPA - France
Date of entry into effect of the zone: 18-07-2017
Type of environmental zone: Zone of air protection, depending on weather conditions and activated after an early warning stage, if the pollutant values exceed, for example, > 50 µg/m³ for particulate matter and following the prefect’s decision.
Not allowed to drive (temporarily): Vehicles without a badge and vehicles with insufficient badge class, depending on the level and duration of the air pollution peak. The badge classes 4 and 5 could be banned from traffic.
Not allowed to drive (permanently): Information currently unavailable
Fines: 68-450 €
Area/extension of the environmental zone: The ZPA air protection zone of Greater Lille includes 12 municipalities: Lille and its surroundings (Hellemmes, Lambersart, Lezennes, Lomme, La Madeleine, Marcq-en-Baroeul, Marquette-Lez-Lille, Mons-en-Baroeul, Ronchin, Saint-André-lez-Lille and Sequedin).
The main axes A1, A22, A25, N227 and D652, which pass through the ZPA air protection zone of Greater Lille, will not be affected by driving bans.
Contact of the environmental zone and exceptions: Information currently unavailable
Exemptions: Information currently unavailable
Environmental zone ZFE
Do I need stickers or registrations?
To enter the low emission zone, each vehicle concerned requires a valid French environmental sticker (Certificat qualité de l'Air). Otherwise, a fine of 68 euros to 375 euros is to be expected.
What is a ZFE zone?
The ZFE zones (Zone à Faibles Émissions), which were still called ZCR zones from 2016 to the end of 2019, are fixed zones that can be identified by traffic signs.
The establishment of a ZFE in France is the responsibility of the respective city or municipality and is regulated by the national decree Décret ZCR 2016-847 of 28.06.2016. After a 6-month legal consultation procedure, which also provides for a right of participation of affected persons, the zone can come into force.
In order to be able to travel in the ZFE environmental zones established by cities or municipalities in France, a Certificat qualité de l'Air is then required, which is allocated to 6 categories.
The respective city or commune determines which sticker classes may enter when. On an additional sign, under the actual ZFE sign, days and times are indicated at which one may enter with a certain French vignette.
In the long term, more and more vignette categories are being excluded from entering low emission zones, so that in some years only categories E and 1 will be allowed to enter.
In a ZFE zone, vignette colours are permanently excluded and do not depend on the respective weather conditions. However, it is possible that a ZFE and a ZPA zone overlap. If driving bans are then imposed within the ZPA zone due to the weather, these also apply to the ZFE/zone. In this case, the rules of the ZPA also apply to the ZFE zone.
However, if the ZFE zone is not within a ZPA zone, this case cannot occur and the rules are unchangeable.
How do I recognize the low emission zone?
The beginning and end of the environmental zones are marked with signs. This shows a red circle as a prohibition sign with the remark "Zones à Circulation Restreinte" (Restricted Zone). Exactly who may or may not enter the zone is not indicated by the entry sign.
In our Green Zones App we have a detailed map of each low emission zone. So you can easily see the boundaries and avoid penalties.
Are there other low emission zones in France?
Yes, a lot of them. France has over 30 different environmental zones. These differ in ZFE (permanent), ZPA (temporary) and ZPAd (temporary département) zones.
In our Green Zones App we have gathered together all the low emission zones in Europe and presented them clearly.
Environmental zone ZPA
Do I need stickers or registrations?
If there is a peak in air pollution and the ZPA zone is activated, each affected vehicle requires a valid French environmental sticker (Certificat qualité de l'Air) to enter the low emission zone. Otherwise, a fine of between 68 euros and 375 euros is to be expected.
You can find out whether a ZPAd zone is active and which vignette is affected by the driving ban in our Green-Zones App.
What is a ZPA zone?
ZPA zones ("zones de protection de l'air") do not apply permanently, but are only active during bad weather and high air pollution. They can cover the areas of entire large municipalities (known as "metropolitan areas" in French) or a specific geographical area. The outlines of each air protection zone are therefore precisely defined in advance.
Since ZPA zones are only valid in the event of a peak in air pollution, the traffic restrictions laid down in a decree only apply if predefined air pollution limits are exceeded. In this case, certain vignette colours are excluded from traffic in order to reduce pollutant emissions. For each air protection zone, recommendations have been drawn up in advance as to which vignette colours should be excluded in the event of severe air pollution. However, in the specific case of air pollution this is always decided by the prefect of the department first.
The mostly large ZPA air protection zones within a department are usually not signposted. In the 95 departments of continental France, it is therefore almost impossible for non-residents to see the exact extent of a ZPA air protection zone. In accordance with article R411-19 of the French Road Code, the decision to create an air protection zone and to define the local rules applicable there falls to the prefect of each department. Once the ZPA zone has been decided, it is legally published in a décret issued by the prefect.
The traffic restrictions decided in a CPA do not come into force on the same day as they are announced. They are usually announced in the afternoon or evening for the following day. The driving bans then apply throughout the ZPA. In case there is an urban ZCR zone within the ZPA zone, its rules are overridden during an air pollution peak. Only after the end of the air pollution peak will the permanent traffic restrictions for vignette categories apply again within the ZCR zone.
How do I recognize the low emission zone?
ZPA zones are only activated temporarily. The size and dimensions of the zone are completely individual. This is determined by the respective prefect, depending on the intensity of air pollution. Therefore there are no special signs for ZPA zones.
The situation is different for the ZFE zones. There, the beginning and the end of the environmental zones are marked with signs. This shows a red circle as prohibition sign with the remark "Zones à Circulation Restreinte" (Restricted Zone). Who exactly is allowed to enter or not is not indicated by the entry sign.
In our Green Zones App we have a detailed map of each low emission zone. So you can easily see the boundaries and avoid penalties.
Are there other low emission zones in France?
Yes, a lot of them. France has over 30 different environmental zones. These differ in ZFE (permanent), ZPA (temporary) and ZPAd (temporary département) zones.
In our Green Zones App we have gathered together all the low emission zones in Europe and presented them clearly.
Good to know...
All current driving bans and further information are available in our Green-Zones App.
Bad air in Europe
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Motorbikes no longer welcome
Motorcyclists have a hard time: more and more cities don't want to let old combustion engines in. Added to this is the noise with which male and female riders make themselves unpopular in many places. A survey among drivers suggests that there will be fewer and fewer motorbikes in the future.
International Car Free Day
Next Wednesday, 22 September, it's that time again, in 46 countries and in over 2000 municipalities: Car Free Day will be celebrated as part of Mobility Week. On this day, people appeal to car drivers to leave their cars behind and get around by bicycle or public transport instead.
Swiss Low Emission Zone explained
Switzerland also has to deal with air pollution. But it does not have to adhere to the EU's specifications. Instead, it has declared a much stricter limit value for particulate matter to be binding. It is not the European 40 µg/m³ that applies in Switzerland, but 30 µg/m³, which must be adhered to. Because this does not always work, there is an environmental zone in Geneva and the surrounding towns of Carouge, Cologny, Lancy and Vernier.
Low emission zones also ensure clean air indoors
Poor air is responsible for nearly 13,000 premature deaths a year in Germany alone. The country has one of the highest nitrogen oxide concentrations in the EU. This affects not only the big cities, but also many medium-sized or small towns. Germany is trying to get a grip on the situation by introducing environmental zones, diesel driving bans and environmental lanes.
Congestion charge for German cities?
It already exists in many European countries: in Norway, Great Britain, Sweden and Italy, the congestion charge is already reducing traffic and increasing revenue in some cities. Transport experts are now calling for the introduction of a toll in German cities as well.
Czech Republic against electric cars
The EU's plan to drastically reduce the share of internal combustion cars in Europe does not please everyone. The Czech Republic's prime minister has now announced that he will vote against the ban on the sale of cars that run on fossil fuels. This could put the EU's timetable in jeopardy, as all 27 states would have to agree to the ban.
Fraud at charging stations?
Charging stations, regardless of whether they charge quickly or take longer, should not charge more electricity than the consumer receives. But this is far too often the case because many charging stations are not calibrated.
Electric vehicles ever more powerful
Two companies from Europe have set new records in electric mobility. The Swiss company Futuricum has proven that trucks can indeed cover long distances without having to be recharged in between. The company Zero Emission Services (ZES) from Rotterdam, on the other hand, is revolutionising inland navigation in the green heart of Holland.
Karlsruhe residents complain about too much delivery traffic
When the mayor of Karlsruhe stood for re-election almost a year ago, the Greens made their support conditional on several points: Parking fees were to be raised and a second bridge over the Rhine was to be dispensed with. Also under discussion were temporary driving bans and the possible introduction of a city toll. So far, however, this toll has not been an issue for the SPD mayor, so that until today there is only an environmental zone.