Households living or working in certain low-emission zones where air pollution exceeds permitted thresholds can benefit from an interest-free loan for the purchase of a low-emission vehicle from January 1, 2023, according to a decree published Sunday in the Staatsblad.
This two-year experiment concerns agglomerations that are subject to persistent exceedance of pollution thresholds and for which the establishment of an EPZ is mandatory from January 1, 2023, the Ministry of Ecological Transition tells AFP.
It is therefore about a dozen large cities (Paris, Lyon, Grenoble, Aix-Marseille, etc.) and not all metropolitan cities with more than 150,000 inhabitants that will have to create a ZFE by December 31, 2024 on the basis of the Climate Change and Resilience Act.
Up to €30,000
This zero-rate loan will cover cars and vans weighing less than 2.6 tonnes with emissions of less than or equal to 50 grams per kilometre, i.e. electric or hybrid vehicles.
It can be granted, subject to income verification, to natural persons and micro-enterprises domiciled or operating in an inter-municipal part of whose territory is located in this type of ZFE, or in a neighboring inter-municipality, in accordance with the decree.
The loan of a maximum of 30,000 euros must be repaid in a maximum of seven years.
At the end of the two-year experiment, the Ministry of Transport, Public Works and Water Management will be responsible for an evaluation report.
Despite orders from the Council of State and calls for order from the European Commission, France does not meet air quality standards in a number of areas of its territory.
AFP