French media are full of hauliers’ anger over the government’s new plan to introduce an extra toll for lorries on the A1 motorway.
The government is planning the new tax to discourage logistics companies from using roads and to make rail and water transport more favourable to them, according to an article in the Courrier Picard.
The Seine-Nord Europe Canal, which will link the ports of the Channel of La Manche, Belgium and the Ile-de-France, is under construction and should be completed by 2030. It will be 107 km long and cost 1.6 billion euros.
When the new Seine-Nord connection is ready, it will allow large vessels to transport goods between the Seine River (and the Paris area) and the ports of Dunkerque, Antwerp, and Rotterdam, or further into Europe.
The canal is part of France’s and the EU’s plan to shift 30% of freight from road to rail by 2030. Currently, road freight still accounts for 75% of transport in France, according to BFMTV.
Local hauliers and lorry drivers interviewed by the French media are far from happy about the planned extra road toll. Some say that lorries will try to avoid the A1. However, with the many weight restrictions on nearby roads, transport will definitely become more expensive. The extra cost will ultimately be borne by customers.
If the planned toll is approved by the government, it will come into force in September 2024.