ZFE: Which cities can hope for an exemption?

Starting in 2025, low-emission zones (ZFE) will not be mandatory for all concerned urban areas, but only under certain conditions.

The concept of a ZFE, or rather ZFE-m (new, new because it stands for Low Emission Mobility Zone), is to limit greenhouse gas emissions in major French cities. Indeed, air pollution, mainly caused by transportation, results in 48,000 premature deaths each year according to Public Health France.

Included in the 2019 Climate Law, the regulation mandates municipalities with over 150,000 inhabitants to establish a ZFE-m by January 1, 2025. However, a new nuance has been added to the law.

What does the law say about ZFE?

If a city can demonstrate a very low level of pollution, it may be exempt from implementing a ZFE. But how? Decree 2022-1641 of December 23, 2022, adds the condition of measuring a NO_x (nitrogen oxides) concentration lower than 10 µg/m3, and this must be done “for at least three years out of the last five years”.

Additionally, this figure must be recorded at “all monitoring stations” across the city or “for at least 95% of the population of each municipality”. Furthermore, the decree specifies a deadline for providing this proof. To avoid a ZFE in 2025, a city will have until July 1, 2023, to demonstrate this minimal pollution level.

ZFE in over 40 potential urban areas

Which urban areas are affected by the ZFE system? The threshold of 150,000 inhabitants is known, which theoretically includes 43 urban areas according to the government.

Some cities and urban areas have already prepared in advance. In fact, 11 have already taken the step. The first was Paris in July 2019, by banning Crit’Air 5 vehicles. Since then, several others have joined the capital, including the recent ZFE in Marseille, Lyon, Toulouse, and Rouen.

Read also: Pollution, which means of transport is most exposed?