France’s ban on local flights fails to take off
Charles Bremner
, Paris
Wednesday May 24 2023, 12.01am, The Times
France
A much-trumpeted ban on short domestic flights in France took effect with so many exemptions that no services will be halted.
Environment campaigners deplored the watering-down of what President Macron called a pioneering effort to curb airline greenhouse gases and his government hailed the law’s enactment as a “world premier” for France.
After lobbying by local authorities and airlines, trimming by the European Union and compromises in parliament, only three routes were affected by the
ban on domestic flights for journeys that are possible in less than two and a half hours by train.
These services, linking Paris Orly airport with Nantes, Bordeaux and Lyons, had already been stopped by Air France under a 2020 agreement with the state in return for pandemic relief and after passengers had largely deserted the aircraft for high-speed trains. Air France’s competitors were barred from starting services to fill the gap.
Thanks to creative rule-making, services continue unhindered between those cities and Charles de Gaulle airport, Paris’s main hub, albeit further out from the centre than Orly. This was done by decreeing that the reference station for Charles de Gaulle would be the airport’s stop on the high-speed rail system rather than stations in Paris.
That rule, plus a condition that train links must be easily available, exempted the three services, as well as flights between Rennes and Charles de Gaulle and between Marseilles and Lyons, southern cities 1 hour and 50 minutes apart by train.
The three Orly routes banned by the law were responsible for only 3 per cent of emissions by aircraft on French domestic flights and 0.3 per cent of emissions from commercial flights taking off from mainland France.
The flight ban idea was adopted by Macron after a proposal by a “citizens’ convention” on the environment that he created after the “yellow vests” grass-roots insurrection in 2018-19.
“This measure has been completely hijacked,” said William Aucant, a member of the convention and Loire regional councillor, “The state lacks courage and is playing with language to try to do as little as possible.”
Greenpeace France said the halted flights represented only three among 100 domestic routes, which was “extremely insufficient”. However, with other campaign groups it called France’s action important as it set a precedent that could be expanded across Europe. France plans to add more routes to the ban when it reviews its list in three years.