End of Free Parking in Paris for 2-Ton Electric Vehicles

As of October 1, 2024, the City Hall of Paris will implement a surcharge on vehicles based on their weight, including electric ones.

This was one of the major promises of Anne Hidalgo during her tenure as Mayor of Paris: to encourage the transition to electric cars to reduce pollution in the capital. To entice residents, the mayor had touted the free parking for residents. This will no longer be the case starting October 1, 2024, for electric cars with a “service weight” exceeding 2000 kilograms (2 tons). This change is a result of the vote disregarded by Parisians earlier this year, which the City Hall of Paris is now putting into effect. Owners of electric vehicles registered in Paris have recently received the following message to inform them. Owners of thermal or hybrid vehicles, whether or not they exceed 1.6 tons, are also affected!

“Madam, Sir,

You currently benefit from a ‘low emission visitor’ parking subscription for your vehicle.

– If your subscription expires before September 30, 2024, it will be automatically renewed until September 30, 2024: you don’t have to do anything.

– As of October 1, 2024 or at the expiration of your current subscription if it is later than this date, the parking conditions in Paris will change to reflect the ‘service weight’ of vehicles (field G of the registration certificate).

Thus:
– If your vehicle is 100% electric and has a ‘service weight’ of 2 tons or less, or if it is hybrid and has a ‘service weight’ of 1.6 tons or less, you no longer need to be registered. The control system will automatically identify your vehicle as eligible for free parking, and this will be applied to you without any action on your part (no ticket needed, no disk required) throughout Paris.

– If your vehicle does not meet the criteria of the previous paragraph, you will no longer benefit from free surface parking. You will need to pay the parking fee at the visitor rate like other users.“

Explosion of the parking fee

If your thermal or hybrid vehicle exceeds 1.6 tons, or if your electric vehicle exceeds 2 tons, you will now have to pay 18 euros for one hour of parking in central Paris (1st to 11th arrondissement), compared to 6 euros currently. For the outer arrondissements (12th to 20th), the fee will rise to 12 euros instead of 4 euros today. Whether your vehicle is an SUV or not, it no longer matters; this distinction was merely a communication argument.

Parisian residents, who were the only ones allowed to vote on this measure, will be exempted. Professionals with a registered vehicle, taxis, and persons with reduced mobility will also not be affected, which is quite a good thing!

Currently, if you do not pay the parking fee, you risk a FPS (Post Parking Fine). It is no longer a fine or a ticket, but a fee. In other words, if you do not pay the small fee to park, you will have to pay a larger fee when you go out shopping, for example. The amount of the FPS is 75 euros in the 1st to 11th arrondissements and 50 euros for the 12th to 20th arrondissements, corresponding to 6 hours of parking, which is the maximum duration allowed for non-residents according to the official text of the City Hall of Paris. For us, the math doesn’t add up, even with a 30% discount for payment within 96 hours, but that’s not the main issue.

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