Parking: This Illegal Practice Is Booming in Paris

In the face of the outrageous explosion of parking fees in Paris, motorists no longer hesitate to hide their license plates.

It’s a vicious cycle. Thanks to a repressive policy never seen before in the history of Paris, socialist Mayor Anne Hidalgo is witnessing the depopulation of the French capital. On average, about 12,000 residents leave Paris each year for the past decade, totaling roughly 120,000 people.

The COVID pandemic accelerated this disaffection, as many families chose to leave Paris for the provinces with the rise of remote work. As a direct consequence, schools and classes continue to close year after year due to unprecedented demographic outflow.

Car access to the city is restricted, public transit is failing, security concerns persist, rents are skyrocketing, and property taxes are rising despite promises: who still wants to live in Paris?

Rather than revising her despotic approach of banning everything, the Mayor of Paris is speeding up (no pun intended): tripling parking fees starting September for cars (and not just SUVs as depicted on demagogic signs) over 1600 kg.

The Limitations of Radar Cars

The repressive policy in recent years involves using radar-equipped vehicles capable of verifying thousands of license plates per hour. All districts are affected, except the two wealthiest: the 7th and 16th districts. And this without any explanation.

These vehicles drive around and photograph every license plate they encounter. If they cannot read the number, well… too bad! The database is not checked for proper payment, but it doesn’t matter. The Paris City Hall is satisfied with the volume of fines, with a private contractor allegedly taking up to 25% of the total amount according to available information.

Therefore, to bypass the system and hope that a foot patrol doesn’t check, an increasing number of drivers prefer to risk hiding their license plates.

The risk is worth it: parking a vehicle without a license plate or with a faulty display can lead to a fixed fine of 135 euros. Cheaper than parking for a few hours in the capital where drivers come to work, shop, support local businesses, etc.

But that’s another logic that escapes the Paris City Hall…

READ ALSO: In Paris, Anne Hidalgo favors cars… that issue fines