Parisians voted 54.55 percent in favor of charging cars weighing 1.6 tonnes or more 18 euros ($19.50) per hour for parking in the city centre, or 12 euros further out. However, only 7.7% of the 1.3 million eligible voters bothered to vote at the 39 voting stations set up around the French capital. Mayor Hidalgo hailed a "clear choice of Parisians" in favour of a measure that is "good for our health and good for the planet".
Fully electric cars will have to top two tonnes to be affected, while people living or working in Paris, taxi drivers, tradespeople, health workers, and people with disabilities will all be exempt. Environmental group WWF has dubbed SUVs an "aberration", saying they burn 15% more fuel than a classic coupe and cost more to build and purchase. City hall has pointed to safety concerns about taller, heavier SUVs, which it says are "twice as deadly for pedestrians as a standard car" in an accident.
Paris officials say the average car has put on 250 kilogrammes (550 pounds) since 1990. The Green party's transport chief David Belliard says around 10% of vehicles in Paris would be hit by the higher parking fees, which could bring in up to 35 million euros per year. Paris's anti-SUV push has not gone unnoticed elsewhere in France, with the Green party mayor in Lyon planning a three-tier parking fee for both residents and visitors from June.
The last city referendum in Paris, on banning hop-on, hop-off rental scooters from the capital's streets, passed in an April 2023 vote but only drew a turnout of seven percent.
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