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00:00It's time now for our Entrenews segment. Today we're going to be talking about cars, air pollution and a vote later this afternoon at the French National Assembly that could unravel years of public policy on air pollution.
00:12For more on this, I'm joined on the set by our Solange Mougin. Solange, first of all, what's this vote all about?
00:16Well, it's all about low emission zones or as they are called in French, les ZFE or the zone à faible émission.
00:24And here in France, a bit of a political fiasco has been going on since March 26, when the far right and the right, they put forth two amendments against this, against the view of the Macron government that would basically wipe away these, get rid of these low emission zones in France.
00:42And those amendments passed by in the committee by a large majority of 26 for, 11 against and nine abstentions.
00:50So today, the issue will be discussed in the National Assembly and during this discussion, the low emission zones could either stand, be rolled back or be scrapped entirely.
01:01Beyond the political moverings of this, what's interesting here is how France got here, how these zones have begun to embody class divides and how these zones are rarely discussed in regard to the number of lives that they save.
01:14The French health ministry says that there are some 40,000 premature deaths in France from air pollution alone.
01:21That is 12 times the number of car accidents deaths every year.
01:25Now, the issue also shows how there is a societal shift going on right now about how to adapt our public spaces or not.
01:33And with those decisions having an effect on our health, on our planet and also on our pocketbooks.
01:38So I'm going to try and walk us through what's happened here in France.
01:41Then we'll talk about air pollution and how dirty Paris's air really is compared to other cities and what other nations are doing in regard to these low emission zones.
01:50Because this issue is happening in France, but there are some 300 similar clean air schemes across Europe.
01:57So, Solange, what's all the backstory on all of this?
01:59I mean, why are low emission zone votes coming up now after so many years of being in place?
02:03Well, it's important to keep in mind that there is municipal elections coming up next year and then after that presidential ones in 2027.
02:12And in this vein, there is a fear among some elected officials of a next yellow vest movement or widespread anger over environmental policies.
02:20And these emission zones, these ZFEs, they are unpopular in France and have been since they were introduced in 2019.
02:27So just to recap here of the basic premise of these zones, it's that older, more pollution-emitting cars are progressively no longer allowed in cities or highly populated polluted areas.
02:39Here in France, cars have stickers that are called critères, and they go from electric and hybrid to level 5, the most polluting.
02:47And currently in Paris, as just one example, cars with level 3s or above are not allowed to drive in the greater Paris region.
02:55There are exceptions to this, and the rules are largely unenforced.
02:59People aren't often fined for this, which actually environmentalists say is already pulling the rug out of these some two dozen zones in their efficiency in France.
03:09But the idea is to get people to replace their older diesel gas guzzlers with new cars that emit fewer pollutants,
03:15which have a devastating effect on people's health and also on the climate.
03:19But since its inception, many people have argued that these low-emission zone restrictions are unfair to the poor,
03:26who can't necessarily buy a new car.
03:28They can't afford it.
03:29In addition to this class element, there's also actually some political anger as well.
03:34Many mayors say that they feel they've been abandoned by the government,
03:37that they've been instructed to put these zones into place, make them stricter,
03:41but that nationwide schemes to entice people to trade in their cars or use public transit,
03:47these incentives have been rolled back or not kept up,
03:50therefore putting these mayors basically on the front line, they say, of the wrath of some of their constituents.
03:55Right, because scrapping these low-emission zones could have both short-term but also long-term financial consequences for the whole country.
04:02Yeah.
04:02France could be on the hook for some €3 billion in European funds if they do away with these zones entirely.
04:09The French Treasury could potentially have to reimburse, they say, €1 billion to Brussels.
04:14Now, amendments have been floated to loosen the rules in some cities and keep them in place in zones where pollution levels were above EU limits for three years in a row,
04:24essentially Paris and Lyon.
04:26But these financial incentives from Europe get to the heart of why these zones are in place, to protect the health of citizens.
04:33In Europe, some 240,000 people die every year from air pollution, according to the European Environmental Agency,
04:41with, again, as I said, some 40,000 premature deaths in France, according to the French Health Agency.
04:47These are deaths from lung cancer, stroke, heart attack, asthma.
04:51Studies also show that some of these pollutants have adverse effects on mental health,
04:55with increases in issues like schizophrenia, depression.
04:58So the environmental health benefits of lowering these air pollution, this has been proven scientifically.
05:06But so far in France, it hasn't really been, French people haven't really been sold on these ZFEs as a life-saving initiative.
05:13For many people, it is still a personal freedom issue.
05:16Right.
05:16All right.
05:16Let's talk more specifically about Paris and Paris' air pollution problem or not and how it's doing compared to other cities.
05:22Well, our cell phones, they often tell us it is a red pollution day or you go for a walk in Paris.
05:28You may see or feel the pollution in the capital at times.
05:32But despite this, Paris is actually not on top of the world's most polluted air lists or even of Europe's.
05:38For those records, you have to sadly go to India or the Balkan nations in regard to Europe.
05:43In regard to air pollution in France, the statistics, they basically change depending on the chemicals that you're measuring on the season.
05:51And also geography plays a big role here.
05:54But so does traffic.
05:55And Paris comes in second behind London when it comes to the most traffic jams in Europe.
06:01According to Intrix's annual report, drivers in Paris spent 97 hours in traffic in 2024 after London's 101 hours.
06:11But unlike Paris' ZFEs, London's ULES or ultra-low emissions zones is actually solidly in place in London.
06:19And studies have shown that it's massively improved the air quality in the UK city with nitrogen dioxide levels cut in half in the city center.
06:29In Italy, too, the zones, they've actually been in place since the 1970s.
06:33So what gives in France?
06:34Well, in July 2023, the government commissioned a report to compare the over 300 clean air schemes of Europe.
06:41And it found that a more global approach of boosting public transport, of bike infrastructure, of trade in car schemes, and better communication, all of that is needed for these zones to be accepted.
06:52Things like France having invested twice as much in roads than in rail travel since 1995 have not helped either, nor has cutting the budget of green initiatives from 2.5 billion euros last year to 1.5 billion euros this year.
07:07So now the fragile low emissions zones, it actually may be just a symptom perhaps of a larger walking back of certain environmental and health policies at the national level.
07:19All right.
07:19Solange, thanks for keeping an eye on all of that for us as that vote's taking place today.
07:23That's our Solange Mujam.
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