France will award up to USD 1,200 to those who take their car to the scrapyard to buy a bicycle

The French deputies voted on the night of Friday to Saturday a provision that creates a bonus scheme for those who take their car to the scrapyard to buy a bicycle instead, also if it is powered by an electric battery.

Deputy Jean-Marc Zulesi, promoter of this amendment to the climate law which is in parliamentary process, highlighted on his Twitter account the approval and explained that it represents a extension of the device that encourages the renovation of a car for another more efficient in terms of energy.

The new article establishes that the aid will be for “The acquisition of own vehicles, including bicycles and pedal-assisted bicycles” on condition that polluting vehicles are sent to scrapping.

Also by the change of vehicles with thermal engines (gasoline or diesel) for other electric ones or by the installation of equipment that improves security.

The amount of these premiums remains to be defined, although promoters expect them to be at least 40 or 50% of the value of an electric bike, which could mean between 500 ($ 605) and 1,000 euros ($ 1,190).

With the coronavirus crisis and the will to avoid public transport, the use and sales of bicycles have progressed significantly in France.

Despite the closure of stores for more than three months due to lockdowns, in 2020 they grew by 1.7% in number up to 2,684,800. In value, this increase was 25%, up to € 3 billion ($ 3.57 billion).

The reason is that they were marketed 514,672 bicycles, 29% more than in 2019 and represented 19% of the total in volume and 56% in value.

The National Assembly also gave its approval last night to other provisions of the climate law that aims to reduce pollution caused by the car park, highlighted by the Government in a statement this Saturday.

On the one hand, to the ban on the sale of cars that use fossil fuels by 2040, a stage in 2030 by when only 5% of new vehicles will be able to emit more than 95 grams of carbon dioxide (CO2) per kilometer.

Last year more than half of the cars that were registered exceeded that emission threshold.

What’s more, From 2040 on, trucks, buses or coaches that use mostly fossil fuels will not be sold either, which will force at least their hybridization.

The deputies approved several articles that will facilitate the deployment of charging points for electric vehicles. For example, when an individual wants to install one in his parking space in an apartment building, the decision will be made at the neighborhood assembly by simple majority and no longer qualified as before.

Penalties for those who commit “crime of ecocide”.

In November of last year, the French government announced that the creation of a “crime of ecocide” to prevent and punish serious damage caused to the environment, which derives from a proposal of the Citizen’s Climate Convention.

“Today there are those who choose to pollute, because it costs them less than cleaning. This is going to change. I hope we are extremely dissuasive”, said the Minister of Justice, Eric Dupond-Moretti in an interview in the weekly Sunday newspaper.

“Before, we polluted, we didn’t pay. Now, we pollute, we pay ten times more than we thought we would save”, he added.