Pollution war brings stickers and cycle lanes

All vehicles, including those registered outside France, are obliged to display one of six stickers, selected according to how polluting their vehicle is.

Anyone entering a French environmental zone (Zone à Circulation Restreinte) from 8am to 8pm, even if just passing through, needs a sticker, which are purchased for €4.80 at certificat-air.gouv.fr.

However, at the time of going to press, only French car registration details could be entered. Authorities said that a service for non-French registered vehicles was due to go live on February 1.

With this in mind, the date it becomes illegal for non-UK vehicles to not have a sticker is April 1, 2017, but as with French-registered vehicles following the January 16 launch, there will a period of tolerance (the duration of which is unconfirmed) when fines from police spot-checks (€68 for cars, €135 for trucks and buses) will be waived.

The stickers are valid for the lifetime of the vehicle and must be clearly visible in the windscreen. If you lose it, you will need to buy a new one.

A wait of up to 30 days for your sticker to arrive by post is described as ‘not abnormal’.

The capital will also introduce a tram-bus scheme to halve traffic on one heavily-used road by the Seine, and create two-way traffic and cycle lanes on the Champs-Elysées and
Rue de Rivoli.

Paris took tough action as mayor Anne Hidalgo said there was “environmental urgency” to act after last year’s pollution alerts that not only damaged residents’ health but gave tourists an added scare on top of the security problems.

City officials said that within 15 years the centre of Paris would be pedestrianised.

Grenoble and Lyon also have car controls in place for pollution peaks while up to 25 more towns are planning similar schemes in future.