Why is the City of Paris encouraging people not to pay for parking?

If you plan to park all day in Paris, stop questioning yourself: don’t pay for parking. Here’s why.

In Paris, the longer you park, the less you stand to benefit from paying. This is, in summary, what you should keep in mind about the strategy. Why? Because whether you forget to pay for 1 minute or 6 hours, you will face the same fine: 75 euros. This fine, once issued, is valid for 6 hours. That’s the theory on paper.

By pushing this logic even further, you’ll see that the gap in Mayor Anne Hidalgo’s logic widens even more. We get the leaders we deserve…

Fine for not paying?

In Paris, parking costs are not linear. 1 hour costs between 4 and 6 euros depending on the arrondissement, a 50% difference. Why so much? Mystery.

For 3 hours, the rate jumps from 16 to 24 euros, averaging between 5.33 and 8 euros per hour. And it continues in this manner, as shown in the table above.

Finally, the paid parking hours in the French capital are from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., a span of 11 consecutive hours. In the best case, this means adding two flat rates: 6 + 5 hours. In the worst case, the total could amount to 75 + 57 euros, which is 132 euros. In the future, with a heavy car over 1600 kg (or 2000 kg for an electric), the bill will triple. Welcome to madness!

Returning to the case of 132 euros—a staggering price relative to the median salary in France (2,630 euros net in 2023), which is about 87 euros net per day… The City of Paris, in an act of leniency, allows for a Reduced Post-Parking Flat Rate (FPS) of 30% if paid within 9 days of the penalty notice.

So, subtracting these 30% from the two possible 75-euro fines accumulated over a full day, the calculation looks like this:

(75 + 75) – 30% = 105 euros!

This results in a minimum saving of 27 euros, and even more if you account for the likelihood of not being checked twice in one day… or not at all.

Ultimately, if you decide to spend the day in the capital, whether to work or support local businesses using your money, keep this in mind: DON’T PAY FOR YOUR PARKING.

Oh, one last thing: in its inscrutable logic, the City of Paris redistributes 25% of the fine revenue to third-party companies responsible for monitoring parking violations. Otherwise, your only option is to take the metro: the ticket costs only 4 euros. In the end, an hour of parking isn’t so expensive…

Paris in common, said the poster during Anne Hidalgo’s 2020 municipal campaign. La Française des jeux now sees competition in the “Paris en ligne” services, which are less fair.