These cars will be banned from the roads from January 1, 2025

© Pexels/Max Avans

New year, new restrictions… To celebrate 2025, more than 2 million drivers will see red in France. To drive in the majority of the country's major cities, this will be impossible for many cars, which will be non-regulatory from January 1, 2025.

What about your car ? Will you still be able to drive it starting next week ? Here's an update on this huge change for motorists.

Crit’Air stickers, more important than ever

Introduced in 2017, Crit’Air stickers have become essential for drivers, particularly in large cities since they classify vehicles according to their pollution level. The older your car, the more it pollutes and the lower its classification.

To improve air quality, these are intended to regulate traffic. They are, in particular, mandatory for driving in ZFE-m, i.e. low-emission mobility zones. During pollution peaks, restrictions may also apply. Without a Crit’Air sticker, you can be fined when driving in certain French urban areas.

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Until now, vehicles with a Crit’Air sticker 4 or 5, i.e. the most polluting old cars, have been increasingly penalized. Thus, they can no longer drive in the city center of Paris and other urban areas such as Lyon and Marseille. In reality, cars can no longer drive in the famous low-emission zones. Let us specify that these are generally located in the hearts of cities.

But from this January 1, 2025, vehicles with a Crit’Air 3 sticker will also be affected. Originally, this measure was planned for July 2024 before being postponed ) at the beginning of this year.

Initially, they will be banned in the ZFE-m of Paris and Lyon, but this should be extended to Marseille, Strasbourg and Rouen. Category 3 cars are petrol vehicles registered for the first time between 2006 and 2011 and diesel models first registered between 2006 and 2010.

To spice things up a bit, our colleagues at Turbo specify that each territory is authorized to set its own rules, and therefore its own restrictions. Enough to complicate the task of motorists, many of whom already see things quite vaguely. For example, in Avignon and Saint-Etienne, only heavy goods vehicles are concerned. In Bayonne, this restriction will only come into force from April 1, 2025. Finally, the metropolis of Perpignan is giving itself a one-year period.

Obviously, there are repercussions on motorists. It may be advisable to resell your Crit’Air 3 vehicle as quickly as possible. This could prevent it from losing too much of its value. If you have a Crit’Air 4 or 5 vehicle, you can benefit from a conversion bonus if you sell your car to a dealership or scrapyard.

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