Thousands of parking spaces in France are set to disappear as rules require vehicle-free zones around pedestrian crossings.

Regulations in the Mobility Law ‘loi mobilité’ state that all pedestrian crossings must have a five-metre zone that is free of any motorised vehicle. This applies in the direction of the crossing (or for two-way streets, both ways).

First passed in 2019, the deadline for complying with the rules falls at the end of next year, however thousands of spaces are yet to be modified.

The change means parking spaces adjacent to crossings – common in urban areas where slots are scarce – will need to be removed.

The cost of moving these spaces will fall entirely on local municipalities however, some of which will need to spend millions of euros to comply.

Zane Lilley