French government suspend Ecotax after violent protests

As this issue of ITS International goes to press there is considerable confusion over the introduction of the French Ecotax following widespread and sometimes violent protests. Following a series of postponements going back over several years, the GNSS-based tax on vehicles over 3.5 tonnes was due to come into effect on 1 January 2014 and was expected to raise one billion euros per year. However, the French government has announced that the tax has been suspended indefinitely but is stressing that this is
December 20, 2013 Read time: 2 mins
As this issue of 1846 ITS International goes to press there is considerable confusion over the introduction of the French Ecotax following widespread and sometimes violent protests.

Following a series of postponements going back over several years, the GNSS-based tax on vehicles over 3.5 tonnes was due to come into effect on 1 January 2014 and was expected to raise one billion euros per year. However, the French government has announced that the tax has been suspended indefinitely but is stressing that this is a suspension, not a cancellation.

The suspension was announced after France’s politically significant farmers joined the growing protests as they were unhappy about a ‘green tax’ being levied on the vehicles used to transport products from their farms. French newspaper Le Monde has reported that the tax may be postponed until July 2014 after local and EU elections but there is no official word from the government of French President Francois Hollande.
Charging, Tolling & RUC

Related Content

  • August 20, 2015
    European tunnel upgrades following new safety legislation
    Across Europe there is a very mixed picture of compliance to latest safety standards for road tunnels. Best practice has emerged, however, in the wake of European legislation. Jon Masters reports High profile fatal fires following accidents in the Mont Blanc, Tauern and Gotthard tunnels prompted the 2004 European Union Directive 2004/54 on road tunnel safety. This meant all EU member states would have to meet new standards of safety in road tunnels by 30 April 2014. The Directive applied to all tunnels over
    Read More
  • August 5, 2015
    High cost of French air pollution, report cites transportation
    A report entitled Air pollution: the cost of inaction, published in July by the French Senate Committee of Enquiry estimates the annual cost of air pollution in France at €101.3 billion ($110 trillion), according to EurActiv France. The committee has described air pp0llution as an ‘economic aberration’ and has proposed measured including raising the tax on diesel and taxing emissions of the worst polluting substances. While overall air pollution has fallen in recent years, "the nature of the pollution
    Read More
  • October 13, 2015
    Politicisation of US transportation funding
    Andrew Bardin Williams looks at how a political stalemate and a series of short-term fixes is undermining America’s highway funding and curtailing long-term planning. It was a week before the deadline to renew funding for the Highway Trust Fund, and the clock was ticking.
    Read More
  • June 29, 2016
    Are truck bans the wrong move in the battle for air quality
    Low emission zones and heavy goods vehicles’ access to city centres may at first glance appear attractive but how effective are such controls? Jon Masters reviews emerging trends across Europe. Around 1,700 European cities have implemented low emission zones (LEZs) and in addition some have restricted city centre access for heavy goods vehicles (HGVs). Even those that restrict HGV access, such as Paris and Rome, allow exemptions at certain times and for particular classes of vehicle. But with what effect?
    Read More

Highlighted Content