Paris wages war on SUVs – and calls on London to follow suit: Sadiq Khan has already praised France’s car-hating socialist mayor for tripling parking fees for family cars, despite only 3.25% of voters backing it

Parisians voted on Sunday to ban SUVs from the streets of the French capital by making them three times more expensive to park, as they called on London to follow suit.

It is the latest step in an effort by Socialist Mayor Anne Hidalgo to make the host city for this year’s Olympics greener and friendlier to pedestrians and cyclists.

At first glance the result seems quite convincing. More than 54% of votes cast in the election supported the measure to triple parking charges for large SUV drivers from out of town to 18 euros (£15.30) per hour in the city centre.

But the elections saw low turnout. Only 5.7 percent of the 1.3 million eligible voters cast their votes at the 39 polling stations in the city.

This suggests that of the approximately 75,000 people who voted in the referendum, 40,000 voted in favor of the decision – meaning that roughly only 3.25 percent of the Paris electorate actually cast a vote in support of the decision. Nevertheless, the vote gives the Paris council the chance to introduce the new charges by September.

Meanwhile, Hidalgo called on London and other cities to follow Paris’ example.

The mayor of the fiercely anti-car French capital said he was delighted with the outcome of a referendum aimed at tackling air pollution and road safety problems.

Hidalgo said: “Parisians have made a clear choice – other cities will follow,” adding that higher prices for large, heavy and very expensive vehicles were “a form of social justice.”

In supportive posts on social media, Hidalgo argued that SUVs take up too much space on Paris’ narrow streets, are too polluting and “threaten our health and our planet,” and cause more traffic accidents than smaller cars.

“The time has come to break this trend of cars always being bigger, taller and wider,” she said. “You have the power to take back ownership of our streets.”

The policy was previously supported by London Mayor Sadiq Khan, who called it “innovative.”

Mr Khan, who is sometimes transported around the capital in his £300,000 taxpayer-funded armored Range Rover, said heavier vehicles “take up more space” and “cause issues around CO2 emissions and so on.”

When questioned about Ms. Higaldo’s policies, he said The guard: ‘We always investigate policies around the world. I am a big believer in stealing good policy.

“Rather than invent bad (new policies), if other cities do things that work, we’ll copy them.”

Mr Khan, who has come under heavy scrutiny for his hated Ulez plan, added: ‘We know that some councils in London are having bold policies on parking charges, on your tickets and so on.’

In north London, Islington council charges cars parked depending on the weight of an engine, while Lambeth is considering similar measures.

Parking rates in London’s boroughs vary.

Taking Westminster as an example, hourly costs range from £1.94 to £5.80, or from £2.91 to £8.70 for pre-2015 diesel vehicles, depending on the parking zone.

Should London introduce a similar measure to Paris, tripling parking charges for SUVs, the hourly rate for many motorists will increase by more than £15 per hour.

In the case of owners of pre-2015 diesel SUVs, parking could cost £26 per hour.

A spokesperson for Mr Khan said the mayor had “no plans” to introduce a parking charge for SUVs in the capital, adding: “The mayor made it clear that leaders around the world are exploring innovative ways to tackle air pollution and improve road safety. , and the mayor will continue to monitor this.’

The call in London to restrict or even ban large SUVs in London has grown in recent years for the same reasons as in Paris.

These calls were amplified in July 2023 after a Land Rover Defender crashed through a school gate in Wimbledon, killing two children and injuring several more.

Paris is home to the 2015 global climate treaty and is at the forefront of the campaign to cut dangerous emissions.

It has already closed major roads to cars, and many more restrictions will be in place by the time the 2024 Paris Olympics start in July.

The new SUV prices will apply to vehicles weighing more than 1.6 tons with a combustion engine or hybrid vehicles, and more than 2 tons for electric vehicles.

Tony Renucci, of air quality pressure group Respire, said: “The result of the vote is a victory for the quality of life of the people of Paris.”

Mr Renucci added: “These monsters on wheels are no longer wanted on our streets.”

And Emmanuel Gregoire, the deputy mayor of Paris, said: ‘SUVs are an environmental disaster’.

The mini-referendum was open to Parisians registered to vote.

The question they were asked was: ‘For or against the introduction of a specific rate for the parking of heavy, bulky, polluting individual cars?’

Cyreane Demur, a 20-year-old student, voted in the chic 8th arrondissement, which also includes the car-clogged Champs-Elysées and the chaotic roundabout around the monumental Arc de Triomphe.

Demur said heavier cars make traffic congestion “even more complicated” and that “you have to take into account the ecology and the parking problems.”

But Jadine L’Orlendu, a 75-year-old voter, said SUVs don’t bother me, they don’t take up more space than other cars, the parking spaces are marked and people should drive where they want to drive. It’s about freedom.’

Last August there was a referendum in Paris to ban rented electric scooters, leading to Paris becoming the first European city to do so.

In a country of car enthusiasts, home to Renault, Citroen and Peugeot, Hidalgo has been working for years to make Paris less car-friendly.

Motor vehicles are completely banned from some roads, especially the Seine embankment which used to be a busy highway.

It has become a central Paris haven for cyclists, runners, families and romantics since Hidalgo closed it to car traffic in 2016.

More cycle paths will be added for the period from July 26 to August. Eleven Olympic and Paralympic Games follow, and the city has also reduced the number of on-street parking spaces to allow motorists to use an underground parking garage.

Between the end of Covid lockdowns and 2023 there was a 70 percent increase in bicycle use.