Proposed French truck road tax ‘illegal’
Ségolène Royal, the former partner of French president François Hollande, has proposed replacing the abandoned Ecotax measure that would have been directed at all trucks – French and foreign – with a new levy on foreign trucks only, that appears to be illegal under European Union law.
Ms Royal, who was recently appointed to the French government as environment minister, said: “It would be completely legitimate for a foreign lorry which drives across the country to contribute and pay for maintenance of the roads it uses.”
Ms Royal’s initiative appears to have been inspired by Britain’s HGV Road User Levy, which is imposed on all trucks using Britain’s roads regardless of country of registration and was introduced this April.
Her proposal was given a lukewarm reception, even in France. France is a major transit country for trucks travelling to and from the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland, but already has a tolled motorway network.
Nicolas Paulissen of France’s National Road Haulage Federation said it would contravene European law.
“There is a regulation stipulating that no vehicle can be taxed twice for using the same stretch of road, so as lorries already pay motorway tolls in France, it would not be compatible with European rules.”
The British HGV Road User Levy had to be very carefully drafted so it applied equally to British and foreign hauliers and yet did not leave British hauliers worse off than they were beforehand. This has been done by blending the levy in with the existing VED charge.
