Anger as French ecologists deflate hundreds of SUV tyres in Toulouse

A group of radical French ecologists has admitted deflating 146 tyres of sports utility vehicles (SUVs) in Toulouse.

The “No SUV Tolosa” group – named after the Occitan word for the city – carried out the action on Monday (June 19) evening.

“We want to make life difficult for their owners and force them to see what they have refused to take into account: driving an SUV is bad for the climate,” said the group.

The activists are aiming for a “total ban on SUVs” in the city and claim the vehicles are no longer necessary considering the alternative methods of transport available.

The group claims the action does not hurt anyone and that vehicles alert drivers about low tyre pressure before they set off.

But a number of residents are unhappy about the attacks.

“This kind of action is utterly stupid! They let the air out of the tyres and then what difference does it make?” said one SUV owner.

Not all SUVs targeted

These vehicles are targeted because “SUVs accounted for the second largest increase in greenhouse gas emissions worldwide between 2010 and 2018”, the group claimed in its statement.

“They should be banned because of their excessive fuel consumption, low energy efficiency, weight and poor aerodynamics,” it added.

The group said SUVs should be banned in Toulouse and public transport developed even further, including “more cycle lanes and other forms of mobility”.

It said it did not target all SUVs – cars from outside the town, as well as medical vehicles, cars belonging to doctors, and cars with a disability ‘Blue Badge’ (carte PMR) are left untouched.

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‘Personally, I’d go much further’

The Toulouse activists are part of a worldwide group founded in the UK called Tyre Extinguishers, which targets SUVs in a number of countries and claims to have deflated the tyres of at least 10,000 cars in 2022.

The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) says SUV sales “have increased sevenfold” in recent years, representing nearly two in five of all new car purchases.

“An SUV consumes around 15% more fuel than a standard car, and over the last 10 years these vehicles have been the second biggest source of growth in French CO2 emissions, behind the aviation sector,” it added.

Despite the anger of some residents and SUV owners in France’s fourth-largest city, others agreed with the unconventional methods to raise attention to the problem.

“It's clearly established that this type of car pollutes much more than conventional cars. This kind of action is more symbolic than anything else,” said Claire, a 45-year-old from Lyon on a business trip in the city.

“Personally, I'd go much further. We simply have to ban these vehicles from major cities,” she added.

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