Mobility

The mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, wants to introduce a 50 km/h speed limit on the Paris ring road. However, an article of the Highway Code could put a spanner in the works. In any case, it could prevent speed cameras from flashing cars travelling over 50.

Paris has decided that the speed limit on the ring road will go down to 50 km/h on October 1, 2024. The new road signs should therefore pop up on this boulevard surrounding the City of Light. Will the flashes actually flash? There may be a problem for them. Although the city of Paris is determined to reduce the speed, an article of the Highway Code could block this limit. Surprisingly for a text that covers the whole country, the Paris ring road is mentioned in black and white. With a speed clearly defined by decree. Explanation...

Dura lex, sed lex

Article R413-3 of the Highway Code in force since January 10, 2024 states the following (excerpt): "In built-up areas, the speed of vehicles is limited to 50 km/h. However, this limit may be raised to 70 km/h [...] after consultation with the authorities managing the road and, in the case of a high-traffic road, after the assent of the local prefecture. On the Paris ring road, this limit is set at 70 km/h."

For the Government

First of all, the speed in built-up areas is 50 km/h (not 30 km/h, but that's another story). Secondly, on some roads, it can be raised to 70 km/h. This requires different procedures, in particular with the prefecture. Thirdly, for Paris, the speed of the ring road is set by this decree at 70 km/h. It's set in stone. In order to change this limit, this part of the decree must be changed. This is a competence of the Ministry of the Interior with, moreover, the approval of the Prime Minister and not just Paris City Hall.

Tolerant Parisian speed cameras

This legislative imbroglio could leave the automatic speed cameras of the Paris ring road set to flash from 70 km/h. On the other hand, the municipal police could arrest a driver caught driving at more than 50 km/h. But with a good lawyer, they could easily win their case if they drives at less than 71 km/h. Therefore, this 50 km/h speed limit is legally unenforceable. But, despite the rebellious spirit of the French, how many will dare to defy this limit, for fear of losing points... Even if it is rarely possible to go that "fast" on this extremely congested axis.

(Olivier Duquesne/ML – Source : Le Point – Picture : © Wikipedia - Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported, 2.5 Generic, 2.0 Generic and 1.0 Generic license – Gerafix)