Lyon. How the Lyon Metropolitan Area got ahead of the curve in deploying it... then slowed down
Currently, the Lyon Metropolitan Area's Low Emission Zone (ZFE) prohibits the movement and parking of Crit'Air 5, 4, 3, and unclassified vehicles. This represents an additional 60,000 vehicles (Crit'Air 3) since January 1, 2025, adding to the 23,000 already banned (4 and 5). In total, a quarter of the vehicle fleet is banned.
On January 1, 2020, the Lyon Metropolitan Area implemented the ZFE, gradually prohibiting the circulation of the most polluting vehicles within this area. Bruno Bernard set the objective of having only Crit'Air 0 and 1 vehicles circulating within the area by the end of the mandate in 2026 .
At the national level, the Climate and Resilience Law of August 22, 2021 provided for the establishment of ZFE in urban areas with more than 150,000 inhabitants before December 31, 2024.
2028 is not a totem
Bruno Bernard
In Lyon, the ban on Crit'Air 3 certifications since January 1, 2025, in accordance with the Climate and Resilience Act, has continued to provoke heated debate. Controls that are difficult to implement , and above all, a social divide with an impact on the most vulnerable populations ... Criticisms were rife.
Bruno Bernard reversed course in 2023, announcing a two-year reprieve for Crit'Air 2 vehicles (diesel since 2011). Their planned ban in 2026 within the current area (all districts of Lyon, Villeurbanne, Caluire, and parts of Bron) was postponed until 2028.
The president of the Metropolis recalled in 2024 : "We have halved nitrogen dioxide pollution in 10 years. The rate of decline, according to ATMO studies, can make us optimistic. If things continue like this, we will be able to revise this date of 2028 (for Crit'Air 2). It is not a totem."
From now on, it is neither a totem nor a reality: the abolition of the ZFE voted on in the Assembly has buried this timetable.
Le Dauphiné libéré
