Le Figaro Bordeaux
Much ado about not much. Since the government's backpedaling, only the metropolises of Lyon and Paris will ultimately have to set up restrictive low-emission zones (ZFE), banning the most polluting vehicles (Crit'Air 3). Other metropolises are now considered
“vigilance territories”
and will only be required to ban unclassified vehicles, i.e. those registered before 1997, representing 3% of vehicles in circulation.
Bordeaux is no exception to the rule. The metropolitan office retained at the end of March
“the scenario of an ZFE strictly in accordance with the legal obligation”
, therefore agreeing to apply the law, but without going beyond. To justify this discounted implementation, the agglomeration led by the socialist Christine Bost recalls that the territories
“on vigilance”
respect
“the European regulatory thresholds for the main atmospheric pollutants”
. These thresholds are nevertheless criticized, while 40,000 people die each year from air pollution in France, according to Public Health France.
Share of cars in circulation based on their Crit'Air sticker. Ministry of Ecological Transition
Only 11,017 vehicles affected in 2025
On January 1, 2025, the ZFE implemented in Bordeaux should concern the municipalities located inside the ring road - the Bordeaux ring road - in which the circulation of vehicles registered before 1997 will be prohibited. The ring road itself does not fall within the perimeter of the ZFE. According to Bordeaux Métropole, 11,017 vehicles would be affected, or 2.1% of the metropolitan vehicle fleet. These old vehicles are also becoming fewer and fewer in number,
“as the fleet is renewed”
, specifies the metropolis. According to the Bordeaux Aquitaine urban planning agency (A'urba), the Gironde park contained 960,000 vehicles in 2020.
In order to encourage the modal shift towards buses, trams and bicycles,
“exceptional access to park and ride facilities close to the ring road is planned”
and a
“ZFE pass”
for 24 days per year will be put in place, to
“allow access occasional access to essential public services for people who do not come regularly to the ZFE perimeter
. The metropolis has also established
“a list of local exemptions on a case-by-case basis, valid for a maximum of 3 years, to meet the specific needs of the territory”
and wishes to put in place financial aid and encourage a shift to public transport.
Does this mean, however, that these polluting vehicles, almost thirty years old, will no longer be able to drive on the quays of Bordeaux from January 1, 2025, the effective date of implementation of the ZFE? Nothing is less sure. The Bordeaux metropolis explains in fact that
“systematic controls can only truly be implemented after the approval of a system by the State”
, which is
“now announced for the beginning of 2026”
, i.e. one year after the implementation in place of the ban. At the start of 2025, the establishment of the ZFE in the Bordeaux metropolis therefore risks going unnoticed.