Parking in Paris represents a more than substantial budget for motorists. Faced with this reality, some drivers have developed a particularly effective technique to circumvent the system. This new form of fraud exploits the free parking granted to people with disabilities, a right established by the 2015 law.
A simple, but extremely effective, flaw
The principle is disconcertingly simple: Fraudsters take a “handi rate” ticket without having the European Parking Card (CES) or the Parking Inclusion Mobility Card (CMI-S) normally required. Automatic control cars, equipped with license plate reading systems, cannot check the presence of these mandatory documents. This technical limitation transforms an essential right for people with disabilities into a loophole that can be exploited by unscrupulous drivers.
The extent of the phenomenon can be measured in the figures communicated by Le Parisien: lThe city of Paris currently issues 120,000 disabled tickets per week, out of a total of 500,000 parking tickets.. A proportion that raises questions when we know that Île-de-France only has 150,000 holders of inclusion mobility cards. The comparison shows the extent of the fraud, even if the municipality disputes certain figures put forward by the press.
A control system overwhelmed by the situation
The move to automated controls in 2018 was supposed to modernize Parisian parking surveillance. But this technological development is now showing its limits. Only 15% of the 250,000 daily checks are still carried out by physical agents, or around 37,000 human checks. This reduced presence on the ground complicates the detection of fraudsters.
Rémy Josseaume, lawyer specializing in road law, emphasizes that it is “almost impossible to get fooled”. Fraud can even take more sophisticated forms: some users have discovered that a simple postal code in the Paris parking application allows their license plate to be referenced as a vehicle benefiting from disabled parking.
Sanctions that are not very dissuasive in the face of financial attraction
If the fraudulent use of a disabled card is theoretically punishable by a fine of 1,500 euros, the reality of the sanctions is very different. Violators can easily plead the handling error when taking the ticket. In this case, they only risk a post-parking fee, varying from 25 to 225 euros depending on the vehicle category and the area.
The situation has become even more complex since November 18. A decision from the Council of State now requires the authorities to provide photographs proving the location of the vehicle in the event of contesting an offense. This new administrative constraint offers an additional opportunity for fraudsters to escape sanctions.
The Parisian municipality, aware of the problem, is trying to adapt its strategy. David Belliard, EELV deputy in charge of the transformation of public space, explains that agents are now sent as a priority to areas where an abnormal concentration of disabled tickets is observed. But without a significant strengthening of human means of control, fraud risks continuing to flourish.
- Thousands of Parisian motorists commit fraud by using disabled tickets without having the required cards.
- Automated checks cannot detect this fraud, and only 15% of checks are carried out by agents.
- Poorly dissuasive sanctions and new administrative constraints complicate the fight against this growing phenomenon.
