Angry drivers launch court action against 50 km/h speed limit on Paris ring road

Hundreds of drivers are taking the city of Paris to court for reducing speed limits on its ring road to 50 km/h. 

The drivers want the decision to convert the speed limit on the entirety of the Paris périphérique to 50 km/h – instituted in October this year – to be overturned and the original 70 km/h limit reinstated. 

The 500 drivers making up the contingent are being supported by two leading motorist associations, the Ligue de défense des conducteurs and Fédération française des motards en colère who are also providing legal support. 

They will submit their claim to the Paris tribunal today (November 29).

The change in speed limit is allowed by the introduction of limited traffic zones in the centre this month which covers the central 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th arrondissements. 

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City did not follow correct procedures

Lawyers representing the drivers are basing their case on an argument that the change was illegally imposed by Paris City Council. 

A 2009 decree classifies the périphérique as a ‘trunk road’ (route à grande circulation), changes to which cannot be made by solely a council decision.

The lawyers are saying that as the reduction was classified as a safety measure, the council required additional documentation from the Parisian Préfet de Police to make the changes which it did not have.

“As soon as a rule is changed on the grounds of road safety the opinion of the representative of the State was obligatory,” said Rémy Josseaume, lawyer for the Ligue de défense des conducteurs to Le Figaro. 

“A public consultation which is mandatory in this case was not carried out in accordance with the rules,” by Paris City Council, said lawyer Séverine Manna, who set up the case on behalf of the drivers affected. 

A second argument by Mr Josseaume claims a 2014 decree brought in by then-prime minister Manuel Valls requires such changes to be effected via multiple decrees and not one municipal order. 

Safety argument questions 

The lawyers question whether the safety aspects cited as being behind the increase are as efficient as the council claims. 

“It has in no way been established that deaths and, more generally, accidents on the Paris ring road are in any way correlated with traffic speed and, more specifically, with the speed set by law,” said Mr Josseaume. 

Ms Manna also said previous safety reports from the city council do not “show that the ring road is safer than the streets inside the capital, where intersections are far more accident-prone.” 

Motorists who have joined the campaign say they are now forced into driving through the city centre, making the reduction counter-productive and increasing the risk of accidents to drivers within the city limits.

Paris City Council has issued reports on the state of the road since the changes which it claims show largely positive results. 

Read more: Paris mairie publishes first results from ring road speed drop to 50 km/h

However the reports include statistics that show the change has not necessarily improved safety on the road.

For the period 28-31 October 2024 “there was a 113% increase in accidents compared with the same period in 2023,” said Mr Thiriez, legal advisor for the Fédération française des motards en colère.