Regional councilor of Île-de-France, Pierre Liscia is spokesperson for the “Libres!” movement. by Valérie Pécresse and author of
La Honte
(Albin Michel).
LE FIGARO. - 54.55% of Parisians voted for the
“creation of a special SUV rate”
this Sunday.
How do you view this vote?
Pierre LISCIA. -
Let's be precise: 42,000 Parisians out of 1.3 million registered voters voted in favor of an increase in taxes on family vehicles.
Because that's what it's all about: a massive bludgeoning of families who will have to pay €225 for six hours of parking.
The message sent to them is clear: you are not welcome in Paris!
Paris City Hall would like us to believe that this decision is justified by ecological imperatives?
This is false since hybrid and electric vehicles are also affected by this pricing, whereas much more polluting thermal vehicles escape it.
The one and only objective of this vote is budgetary: with 10 billion euros in debt, the City's coffers are empty, the Town Hall no longer has any room for maneuver and is on the verge of being placed under supervision by the State.
After the explosion of property taxes, the sham of capitalized rents and the increase in municipal rates, the City is desperate to replenish the coffers.
Read alsoSUV in Paris: are you affected by the tripling of parking prices?
What does the town hall mean by “SUV”?
The term SUV is a commercial name which has no legal existence.
The mayor of Paris uses the term “SUV” on purpose since she would like to make it a prerogative of the bourgeoisie.
This forgets that SUVs can be hybrid or electric and that they are increasingly accessible and particularly popular with families: they are also the best-selling new vehicles in France in 2023. We are far from the fantasy of the big, noisy and polluting luxury sedan!
Anne Hidalgo only listens to Parisians when the result of the consultation suits her.
Pierre Liscia
Doesn’t the absence of a precise definition (size, motorization?) pose a problem?
Legally no.
This is only a consultation and the result of the vote has no binding value.
Ultimately
, it is the Mayor of Paris who decides and the Council of Paris which will ratify the decision.
It is at this moment that we can submit the deliberation to legality control.
Politically, it doesn't matter either: let's remember that Anne Hidalgo announced this vote on SUVs to everyone's surprise, while she was entangled in the scandal of her trip to Tahiti.
He had to create a diversion very quickly.
So what does it matter if the terms of the vote are improvised and imprecise, provided that its announcement arouses greater controversy than “Tahitigate”.
Of the 1.3 million registered voters, only 78,000 made the trip, or a little more than 5%. How to explain this abstention?
Anne Hidalgo only listens to Parisians when the result of the consultation suits her.
So what's the point of going to vote when the decision has already been made?
As proof, I cite the transformation of the ring road which was the subject of massive rejection by 85% of Parisians.
Despite this, Anne Hidalgo reaffirmed her intention to see it through to the end, regardless of the vote of Parisians.
This is enough to make you not want to go vote!
It's a shame to have reduced such a beautiful democratic tool to a simple PR stunt.
However, I am quite convinced that Parisians could come in numbers to take part in votes on the lack of maintenance of the roads, the dirt on the streets, the destruction of street furniture or even the deterioration of the capital.
So many issues of daily concern for Parisians.
Surprisingly, no one at Paris City Hall dared to ask them.
Local democracy is only when it suits it.