Remove areas with low emissions (ZFE), as required by deputies, could cost France more than 3 billion euros in European aid, according to a note from the General Directorate of the Treasury cited Tuesday by the media context.
The special commission responsible for studying the “simplification” bill voted at the end of March the abolition of ZFEs, these urban areas whose access is reserved for the least polluting vehicles, supposed to push motorists to give up very issuing fine cars of fine particles, but which would penalize modest households according to several political decision -makers.
The deputies adopted LR and National Rally (RN) amendments in this sense, with votes from other political groups, against the opinion of the Government and certain elected officials on the left. For the cabinet of the Ministry of Ecological Transition, these discussions on the abolition of ZFEs “send a negative political signal” which could “call into question the already obtained subsidies” for their implementation.
According to the Treasury note, this abolition exposes France “at a risk of reimbursement of up to a billion euros”.
The next “jeopardy” payments
The European Commission could also “consider this abolition as a cancellation of commitments, which would jeopardize the next payments” of the EU within the framework of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR) of France, according to the office of Minister Agnès Pannier-Runacher. This plan allows France to receive 40.3 billion euros in European subsidies until 2026, “provided they respect certain commitments”. For 2025, France must receive 3.3 billion euros as such.
However, among the displayed goals of the PNRR, the adoption of the climate and resilience law passed in 2021 (where the implementation of ZFEs) and the realization of studies prior to the implementation of ZFEs in 18 agglomerations are two key objectives to claim European aid. The respect by France of the objective of carrying out studies prior to ZFE is being evaluated in Brussels, to allow a payment of community funds in 2025.
Initiated in 2019 and extended in 2021, the ZFEs display the objective of improving air quality and limiting the emissions of fine particles, responsible for respiratory diseases and 40,000 deaths per year according to Public Health France, by excluding certain vehicles according to the Crit’Air vignettes.
Currently, they limit the circulation of vehicles Crit’Air 3 – Diesel cars registered before 2011 and petrol cars registered before 2006 – in Paris, Lyon, Montpellier and Grenoble.