There has been a lot of discussion about whether the French LEZs will be removed. What is the actual, correct, real situation?

The actuality is that a process has been started to bring a law in place that will end the requirement for cities to implement LEZs in France, or all but Paris and Lyon. This process has many steps, and the law is not fully finished yet. We have naturally been monitoring the situation, and as soon as it is confirmed that any LEZs will be removed by the cities, where the legal implementation of the LEZs is, we will put this on our website. 

The new law would not automatically remove all LEZs, but would remove the requirement for cities to implement them. The paragraph 1 of the LEZ Article L2213-4-1 of the national transport code states that cities that have a population of over 150,000 must implement an LEZ by the end of last year – although there is an exemption from this if the cities meet the World Health Organisation NO₂ concentrations, so not all cities with a population of over 150,000 would have to implement an LEZ under the current law.

The final steps for the law are not finished, and a joint committee where seven MPs and seven senators will have to agree on a common version in the Autumn, before a final vote in early 2026.  Even if the new law is passed, the cities can still decide to keep the LEZs, or to implement new ones.

As ever, on our website you will find the updated, current, correct situation on LEZs and other Vehicle Access Regulations in Europe. For the current situation in France, see our French page.

Picture source: pixabay