French MPs vote in ‘simplification’ law: key points
The law’s proposed ban of low-emission zones is one of its most controversial aspects
The bill would make it easier to install data centres in France, among several other streamlined procedures
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French MPs have voted in favour of new legislation that aims to simplify several areas of daily life in France including driving as well as business and personal administration.
We look at the law’s key points.
The text passed by 275 votes to 225, with right-wing parties (including the far-right Rassemblement National) among those to offer strong support.
The part of the law that is most likely to affect ordinary residents in France relates to the zones à faibles émissions or ZFEs, a series of low emissions zones across urban areas.
These are set to be banned under the incoming law, following earlier amendments included in the text by right-wing MPs.
Despite MPs voting in favour of the bill drivers should note that the ban is not yet in place, so are advised to check local rules in France if driving through a ZFE.
The text’s key points
The text, as it stands now, contains the following key points:
This controversial part of the bill was included in large part due to the support of right-wing parties, and upheld during yesterday’s vote.
However, this part of the text could yet be rejected, if the Constitutional Council (Conseil constitutionnel) views it as a ‘legislative rider’, and sees it as too unrelated to the rest of the bill.
Another controversial measure. The 'zero net artificialisation of land' project aims to reduce the use of natural, agricultural, and forested land to preserve the benefits provided by natural soils.
This measure is particularly unpopular among some critics, including Renaissance MP (and former Minister for Ecology) Agnès Pannier-Runacher. She said that the bill was “completely calling into question the trajectory and vision set out over the last three years”, in an open letter in Le Monde opposing the bill, also signed by other critical MPs.
The bill would create a ‘Conseil de la simplification pour les entreprises’ (Business simplification council). This council would include representatives from businesses of all sizes, and report to the Prime Minister.
Its aim would be to assess any regulations that would “have a technical, administrative or financial impact on businesses”, and issue opinions on the texts, to help support companies.
The bill would introduce a limit to any advisory bodies set up under ministers (including the above council), capping their existence with the same members to three years. This may be extended for a further three years by decree, if the council has demonstrated its usefulness during the first three.
The bill provides for simplified access to public procurement, and would require public entities to use the digital ‘Place’ platform by 2030. This is designed to streamline procedures and make it easier for smaller businesses to access public contracts.
Retailers would have the right to ask their landlords to allow monthly rent payments. Security deposits would also be capped at three months’ rent, and no more.
The law would also make it easier to establish major business projects, including the establishment of data centres. Data centres that are deemed to be “of particular importance for the digital transition, the ecological transition or national sovereignty may also be termed ‘a project of major national interest’ by decree”.
Having more and/or better-distributed data centres across France can improve the quality of digital services and applications by reducing outages, lowering latency, and improving performance during peak demand.
What is next for the bill?
Senators are set to vote on the bill today (April 15). Once this is done, the bill will need to be analysed by le Conseil constitutionnel before it is promulgated and made law.
When it comes to ZFEs specifically, several political experts believe the ban will be thrown out. This is particularly likely if the Conseil constitutionnel judges this clause to be too disconnected from the original aspect of the bill (whose main aim is to simplify business administration).
This rejection of certain ‘disconnected’ parts of a bill has precedent. For example, this happened to several aspects of the 2024 immigration bill.
The council may choose to throw out the element of the law banning ZFEs altogether, or instead suggest a compromise that passes control of the ZFE decision to local authorities. However, this has already proven unpopular among MPs, as the government already tried to introduce this compromise into the original bill, and it was rejected.
