French deputies vote to cancel low emissions in a blow to Makkon

The National Assembly of France voted to cancel low -emission areas, a major measure that was presented during the first term of President Emmanuel Macron to reduce the city’s pollution.

The so -called zfes (Low emissionsIt has been criticized for being hit by those who cannot afford the costs of the least difficult cars.

A handful of Macron deputies joined the right and right opposition parties in voting 98-51 to cancel the regions, which have been gradually extended across French cities since 2019.

The movement was launched by Pierre Mourin from the right -wing National Rally, and some car organizations were supported.

But it was a personal victory for the writer Alexander Garden, who created a movement called #Gueux (Beggars)and On the pretext that “the environment turned into a sport of wealthy.”

“Everyone has played their role in voting. The voters of the deputies either to the end of this nightmare, or they refrain,” he told Le Figaro.

“They were afraid to return to their electoral circles if they voted against the cancellation of ZFES.”

The low -emissions began with 15 of the most polluted cities in France in 2019, and by the beginning of this year, it spanned each urban area with a population of more than 150,000, with a ban on cars registered before 1997.

After 1997, the producers need a round “Crit’air” driver for driving in low -emission areas, and there are six categories that are compatible with different types of vehicles.

The largest restrictions were applied in the most polluted cities, Paris and Lyon, as well as Montpellier and Grenoble.

They turned into something of lightning rod for Macron’s opponents.

Marine Le Pen condemned the “right -wing areas” during her presidential campaign for the National Assembly in 2022, and warned its communist counterpart of a “social bomb”.

The President of the right -wing Republicans at the association, Laurent Wakiz, talked about “the liberation of the French from the suffocating and punitive environment”, and on the far left, Cleles Getty said that green policies should not be imposed “on the emergence of the working classes.”

The government tried to go beyond the Wednesday night revolution by reducing restrictions, but also preserving the areas in Paris and Lyon. This amendment was defeated by a large margin.

“Air pollution is behind nearly 40,000 early deaths per year … low-emission areas have helped reduce (this figure),” told AGNès Pannier-Runaracher, the Green Transition, MPS.

The Vegetables and Socialists also voted to preserve the areas.

Green Senator Ann Sawiris BFMTV told “ZFES) also means killing hundreds of thousands of people,” Socialist Deputy Gerard told torrents that the vote sent a negative signal because it did not address the reduction that must be taken to air pollution levels.

The cancellation is expected to pass through the Senate, the Senate in France, but it must still be approved in a broader bill in the House of Representatives in June and will be approved by the Constitutional Council in France, which is not guaranteed.