Truckers see ecotaxe axed

GRIDLOCK NO LONGER THREAT AS ECOLOGY MINISTER SÉGOLÈNE ROYAL SUSPENDS CONTROVERSIAL TOLL ON LORRIES LORRY drivers have cancelled planned roadblocks after the proposed péage de transit

poids-lourds, which would have hit hauliers driving heavy loads was cancelled. After a three-hour meeting with a delegation of transport bodies, Ecology Minister Ségolène Royal, decided to

scrap the planned tax saying her priority was making a profit from motorways. She said she would instead impose taxes on motorway toll operators. Green politicians denounced what they see as

an irresponsible decision. National Secretary of the Europe Ecologie Les Verts (EELV), Emmanuelle Cosse, told _i-Télé_: “I am scandalised that in this country, just as a new law on greener

energy is being discussed, we are not capable of having measures strong enough to fight against air pollution and other matters when it comes to road use.” The threat of lorry strikes

earlier this week appeared to have had the desired effect. The plans to strike came a year after truckers caused gridlock nationwide, which led to the abandoning of the original écotaxe on

heavy-goods vehicles. Ms Royal had called on truckers to “calm down” after talks between the government and haulage groups broke down as they failed to reach an agreement over the proposed

tolling system. The tax on lorries weighing more than 3.5 tonnes was designed to raise funds to maintain roads and divert lorries from urban areas. Transport unions had said the planned GPS

system to track the distances travelled by a lorry was costly and that the tax would cost companies an extra 10% a year. They proposed a system of road tax discs instead. The charges was to

be implemented on just 4,000km of _routes nationales_ and local roads, down from the 15,000km included under the shelved _écotaxe_. The government will have to pay euros 850m in compensation

to the Ecomouv consortium that won the contract to build the toll collection system if it completely abandons the ecotax according to Reuters . Photo: XIIIfromTOKY