French MPs vote to ban low-emission zones: what happens now?

French MPs voted in favour of an ‘simplification of daily life’ bill yesterday (June 17), which includes a repeal of the country’s low-emission ‘ZFE’ zones. 

There are still several steps that must be taken to bring an official end to these zones however and it is unlikely this will happen soon. 

The bill was adopted by 275 votes in favour, 252 against. Right and far-right MPs backed the law, with left-wing MPs voting against. 

Centrist MPs including those from President Emmanuel Macron’s party were split, but most voted against it. 

The highly-contested bill constitutes a number of administrative changes aimed at reducing bureaucracy for residents and business owners in France.

However, several measures aiming to overturn environmental policies implemented in recent years were added to the bill during parliamentary debates, adding to the intensity of debate when it was initially discussed this spring. 

The measures include ending low-emissions zones (Zones à faibles émissions, or ZFEs) that are present across dozens of cities and urban areas in France.

Read more: 2025 MAP: France’s new clean air driving zones and their rules

Some government MPs tried to reach a compromise that would see the zones scaled back but maintained in cities failing to hit pollution targets – namely Paris and Lyon – but this was rejected.

“I regret that this text has been hijacked from its original intentions of legitimate simplification to lead to worrying setbacks on key environmental and public health issues,” said Minister for Ecological Transition Agnès Pannier-Runacher on social media following the vote. 

At the same-time, far-right MPs who championed the anti-green amendments were predictably happy with the vote. 

“We have dealt a blow to bureaucracy, and called into question punitive ecology… [and] the work of Emmanuel Macron,” said Rassemblement National MP Matthias Renault. 

Will ZFEs actually be banned? 

Despite the vote, the future of ZFE zones is still far from certain. 

The simplification bill will now pass to a joint committee of Senators and MPs, who will create a draft law based on the text. 

Before being implemented, this will need to be scrutinised by the Constitutional Council (Conseil Constitutionnel), where some MPs believe there is a ‘high chance’ a ban on ZFEs will be repealed. 

The Council may see the amendment as a ‘legislative rider’ (cavalier législatif), something added to a bill that does not have a strong enough link to the main subject matter which should therefore be removed. 

The Council has previously argued amendments in the 2024 immigration bill granting some second-home owners longer visas were legislative riders, and required them removed from the final legislation.

However as the simplification bill is wide-ranging in nature, addressing topics from taxes to infrastructure projects etc, this may not be the case. 

Read also: Why drivers should keep their Crit’Air stickers - even if low-emission zones end