Like everything Hidalgo does this is performance art pretending to be a solution.

If you read the fine print (not mentioned in this article I’ll go find a French article and edit it in) the problem here is it DOESN’T affect residents, only those from outside Paris.

What does that mean ? The millionaires in the 6th arrondissement can keep their Porsche Cayennes, Lamborghini Urus’ and Bentley Bentaygas free of charge but the electrician or builder coming in from the banlieues and peripherique in his Toyota Hilux will pay an extra tax.

The weight tax also creates challenges for a tradie to swap his ICE VW transporter for an EV equivalent.

All is not as it seems. If she makes it a tax on SUVs in Paris regardless of where you live (like the London ULEV setup) then it may do some good

Edit 1 it is in the guardian article

"The prices will apply to vehicles weighing more than 1.6 tonnes with a combustion engine or hybrid vehicles, and more than 2 tonnes for electric vehicles. The move will not apply to Paris residents’ parking. "

This is the best summary I could come up with:

Paris intends to triple parking charges for large sports utility vehicles (SUVs) in order to push them out of the city and limit emissions and air pollution, the mayor has said.

“It is a form of social justice,” Anne Hidalgo announced on Friday of the plan to deliberately target the richest drivers to tackle the climate breakdown and air pollution.

Paris will hold a referendum on 4 February asking residents to vote for or against a specific parking tariff for heavy, large and polluting SUVs.

David Belliard, a deputy mayor of Paris for the Green party, said: “SUVs cost between €6,000 to €7,000 more than a standard car and all the studies by car firms show that they are bought by the wealthiest people with high incomes … This measure, if applied, will be directed at the richest people in order to finance the transformation of our public space to adapt to the climate crisis, so it’s a form of social redistribution.”

Under Hidalgo, Paris has for years raised pressure on drivers by increasing parking costs and gradually banning diesel vehicles, while expanding the bicycle lane network in the congested capital.

The French motorists’ association, 40 millions d’automobilistes, denounced what it called an “unjustified” clampdown and restriction on liberties.

The original article contains 550 words, the summary contains 209 words. Saved 62%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!

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