New year, new restrictions… To celebrate 2025, more than 2 million drivers will see red in France. To drive in a majority of the country’s large cities, this will be impossible for many cars, which will be non-regulatory from January 1, 2025.
What about your car? Will you still be able to ride it next week? We take stock of this huge change for motorists.
Crit’Air stickers, more important than ever
Established in 2017, Crit’Air stickers have become essential for drivers, particularly in large cities since they classify vehicles according to their level of pollution. The older your car is, the more it pollutes and the more poorly it will be classified.
To improve air quality, these are intended to regulate traffic. They are, in particular, obligatory for traveling in ZFE-m, namely low-emission mobility zones. During pollution peaks, restrictions may also apply. Without a Crit’Air sticker, you may be fined when driving in certain French towns.
Until now, vehicles with a Crit’Air 4 or 5 sticker, namely the most polluting old cars, are increasingly penalized. Thus, they can no longer circulate in the city center of Paris and other cities such as Lyon and Marseille. In reality, cars can no longer drive in the famous low-emission zones. It should be noted that these are generally found in the hearts of cities.
But from January 1, 2025, vehicles equipped with a Crit’Air 3 sticker will also be affected. Originally, this measure was planned for July 2024 before being postponed at the start of the year.
Initially, they will be banned in the ZFE-m of Paris and Lyon, but this should extend to Marseille, Strasbourg and Rouen. Category 3 cars are petrol vehicles registered for the first time between 2006 and 2011 and diesel models first registered between 2006 and 2010.
To spice things up a little, our colleagues at Turbo specify that each territory has the authorization to set its own rules, and therefore its own restrictions. Enough to complicate the task of motorists, many of whom already see things quite vaguely. For example, in Avignon and Saint-Etienne, only heavy goods vehicles are concerned. On the Bayonne side, this restriction will only come into force from April 1, 2025. Finally, the metropolis of Perpignan grants itself a one-year deadline.
Obviously, there are repercussions on motorists. It may be advisable to resell your Crit’Air 3 vehicle as quickly as possible. This could help prevent it from losing its value too much. If you have a Crit’Air 4 or 5 vehicle, you can benefit from a conversion bonus if you sell your car to a dealership or scrapyard.
