Marseille: Crit’Air 5 Vehicles Soon to Be Excluded from the City Center

The ban will be extended to other categories over time.

The Aix-Marseille Metropolis will, in turn, establish a Low Emission Zone (LEZ). The measure will come into effect on September 1st. From this date, Crit’Air class 5 vehicles or unclassified vehicles will no longer be able to circulate in central Marseille.

The Crit’Air 5 category includes all diesel vehicles registered between July 1, 1997, and December 31, 2000. “Unclassified” cars are those registered before December 31, 1996.

According to the Metropolis, the measure will affect only an extremely limited number of people. Crit’Air 5 and unclassified vehicles would account for only 2 % of private vehicles, 4.4 % of heavy trucks, and 1 % of utility vehicles.

The Marseille LEZ is bounded by the following road axes: Cap Pinède Avenue, Capitaine Gèze Boulevards, Plombières Boulevard, Alexandre Fleming Avenue, Françoise Duparc Boulevard, Sakakini Boulevard, Jean Moulin Boulevard, Rabatau Boulevard, and Prado 2 Avenue. Informational signs will mark the start of the zone.

New stricter rules starting next year

The regulations will tighten over time. Starting September 2023, the ban will extend to Crit’Air 4 cars. In September 2024, Crit’Air 3 will also be excluded from the LEZ.

This new rule applies to all motorized vehicles without exception (heavy trucks, utility vehicles, cars, motorcycles, tricycles, and quadricycles). Vehicles affected by the ban will no longer be allowed to circulate within the LEZ, regardless of day or time. In this regard, the Marseille Metropolis is stricter than Paris, which suspends circulation bans on weekends and from 8 pm to 8 am on weekdays.

People driving without a vignette or with an unauthorized vignette face a €68 fine. The penalty will be even higher for heavy trucks, with a €135 fine.

The vignette must be ordered online, on this site. It costs €3.11 (excluding shipping fees).

Read also: Grand Paris LEZ: Crit’Air 3 ban postponed