Heavy goods vehicles, buses, coaches and motorised two-wheelers registered before July 2004 are also affected by the restrictions, which took force on 1 June – six months later then planned.
They apply to traffic moving within the perimeter of the A86 motorway that encircles the inner suburbs of greater Paris, in a region known as Ile-de-France.
Under a sticker system known as Crit'Air, drivers in the Ile-de-France are required to display a numbered, colour-coded marker on their windscreen that indicates their car’s pollution ranking.
The latest restrictions apply to vehicles carrying a Crit’Air 4 category sticker, with level 5 vehicles having already been banned. Some 410,000 registered vehicles carry Crit'Air 4 or 5 stickers.
Drivers caught flouting the rules face fines of between 68 and 135 euros, although penalties are not expected to be handed out under the end of the year.
[THREAD] 🚘🌫️ À partir du 1er juin, la #ZFE connait une nouvelle expansion : les véhicules classés Crit'air 4 sont interdits de circulation à l'intérieur de l'anneau de l'A86 en semaine entre 8 et 20h. https://t.co/RCpxfUtXgQ
— 6t (@6tRecherche) May 31, 2021
Exemptions have been put in place for ambulances and other emergency or security vehicles, as well as those of charitable associations, removal companies or film or sports events. Collectors cars and those equipped with reduced mobility parking permits are also exempt.
Greener Paris
In a bid to slash traffic, Paris city hall last month announced plans to set up a “low traffic zone” in the city centre by 2022.
Under the proposal, vehicles would be banned from four central arrondissements, including the two islands on the Seine river – one of which is home to Notre-Dame Cathedral.
The zone would also include the medieval Marais quarter, the Louvre Museum and a large part of the historic Left Bank.
