Parisians voted in a referendum on Sunday (February 4) in favour of subjecting large SUVs to a threefold increase in parking charges as the French capital presses on with long-term plans to become a fully bikeable city.

Some 54.5% of Parisians voted in favour of the measure, while 45.5% rejected it. Only 5.7% of voters turned out in the consultation decided by the municipality, according to official results.

Sunday's referendum, which came less than a year after city residents voted last year to ban e-scooters, aims to triple the parking fees for cars of 1.6 tons and more to 18 euros ($19.4) per hour, to discourage "bulky, polluting" cars, City Hall said.

The new tariff would also apply to electric cars of 2 tons and more.

Voters filed in and out of a polling station in the capital's 18th district on Sunday morning. Among them was 27-year-old Juliette Bruley, who voted for the measure.

"It's quite surprising when you see the fees... But at the same, I say this again, do you really need to have an SUV in Paris?" she said.

But 37-year-old Laure Picard, who came to the station with her son, said the measure will make it more expensive to own an SUV, which they use regularly to travel out of Paris.

"Life costs a lot, children cost a lot, so it will just be too expensive," Picard said.

Under Socialist Mayor Anne Hidalgo, the streets of Paris have been transformed, with 84 km of cycle lanes being created since 2020 and a 71% jump in bike usage between the end of the COVID-19 lockdowns and 2023, according to City Hall figures.

The changes have infuriated car drivers, however.

The "40 millions d'automobilistes" car driving lobby launched a petition to support drivers' freedom to use whichever vehicle they want. SUVs have become increasingly popular in France, favoured by families in particular.

Local official Kevin Havet said the vote aims to send a message to manufacturers of SUVs: "Stop making cars as heavy, as imposing, as polluting."

Analyst Flavien Neuvy, who heads the Cetelem automobile observatory, cautioned though on the efficacy of the measure in limiting air pollution.

"I'm not sure this is an answer to pollution since when a vehicle is parked, it doesn't pollute - it's when it's driving," Neuvy said, adding that some heavier hybrid or electric cars, which pollute less, would be penalised by the measure.

(Production: Philippe Marion, Ardee Napolitano)