France’s low-emission zones (zones à faibles émissions, or ZFE), designed to keep older, more polluting vehicles out of major urban areas, look set to be abolished after MPs from across the political spectrum approved an amendment to end them on May 28.
The amendment, adopted on Wednesday night by 98 votes to 51 as part of a broader economic simplification bill, came despite opposition from the government, which had tried to salvage the scheme with a compromise applying only to Paris and Lyon.
That alternative was rejected.
In its place: a blanket scrapping of ZFE obligations nationwide - a measure backed by an unlikely alliance of MPs from the far-right Rassemblement National, the conservative Les Républicains, and left-wing La France Insoumise, along with several members of the presidential camp.
Although the text must still be approved by the Senate - and could yet be challenged in the Constitutional Council – the vote marks the clearest signal yet of the collapse of political support for ZFE, once heralded as a flagship measure in the government’s 2021 Climat et résilience law.
Currently, ZFE limit the circulation of Crit'Air 3 vehicles (diesel cars registered before 2011 and petrol cars registered before 2006).
This has not changed - but the vote could mean that ZFE's days are numbered.
Read more: 2025 MAP: France's new clean air driving zones and their rules
‘A very bad solution to a real problem’
The stated aim of ZFE was to reduce air pollution in the country’s most densely populated cities by restricting access to older cars classified as Crit’Air 3 or lower, depending on local rules.
Health agency Santé publique France estimates that air pollution is responsible for 40,000 premature deaths each year.
But critics have long said the zones unfairly penalise lower-income households, who often rely on older cars to get to work and cannot afford to upgrade.
“It’s a very bad solution to a real problem,” said MP Corentin Le Fur (Les Républicains), describing ZFE as “the most unjust measure there is - one that risks turning working-class people against environmentalism”.
La France Insoumise, which has consistently opposed the measure, called the vote a "victory".
“ZFE are poorly designed and socially divisive,” said MP Manon Meunier. The group reiterated its call for a moratorium on the zones and renewed investment in public transport instead.
Even among government supporters, enthusiasm was muted.
“ZFE are an unfinished tool,” admitted Sandra Regol (Ecologistes), adding that without adequate support measures – such as scrappage schemes, park-and-ride options or better public transport - their rollout had created resentment. Blandine Brocard (MoDem) likewise conceded that “the criteria need refining”.
Proponents of ZFEs had previously argued that abolishing the zones could cost up to €3billion and oblige France to repay up to €1 billion in European Commission subsidies.
Low-emission zones are ‘discriminatory and anti-social’
The government had attempted to preserve the principle of ZFE while watering down its application.
Minister for Ecological Transition Agnès Pannier-Runacher proposed limiting the obligation to Paris and Lyon, while giving mayors in other cities the option to implement them voluntarily.
But this proposal was swept aside.
“We need to adapt ZFE to make them more acceptable,” argued Stéphane Travert, one of the government’s own co-rapporteurs on the bill.
His colleague Gérard Leseul (Socialistes) was more scathing, accusing the government of moral cowardice for failing to defend a measure it had itself championed.
In the end, MPs reverted to the version passed in committee in March – a full repeal of the existing obligations. MPs from the RN and Républicains voted in favour, alongside LFI MPs and several members of Macron’s own Ensemble coalition.
Outside parliament, motorists’ groups hailed the result.
The association 40 millions d’automobilistes welcomed an end to what it called a “discriminatory and anti-social” measure.
Ecologist groups, however, have reacted with alarm.
“If we kill ZFE, we’re effectively condemning thousands of people to premature death,” Green senator Anne Souyris told BFMTV on May 29.
Her party warned the vote represented not only a setback for public health, but a wider turning point in France’s climate policies.
Wider rollback of ecological restrictions
The move to end ZFE was part of a broader trend in the debates towards a relaxation of existing ecological restrictions.
MPs also voted to ease the country’s zero net artificialisation (ZAN) rules – another key element of the 2021 climate law aimed at halting the spread of urban sprawl.
Under the new amendments, large-scale industrial projects deemed to be of “major national interest” will now be exempt from ZAN calculations, and regions will be allowed to overshoot their land development caps by up to 30% without justification.
Other provisions adopted included simplified procedures for installing data centres and mobile antennas, and reduced scope for legal appeals against large infrastructure projects - a move many on the left described as a blow to democratic oversight.
Some MPs warned that elements of the text - particularly the repeal of ZFE - may yet be struck down as unconstitutional, given their tenuous link to the bill’s original purpose.
Debates are set to resume in June, with more than 600 amendments still on the table.
