The European Community of Alsace (CEA) unanimously approved on Monday the principle of a tax on heavy vehicles that aims to reduce transit traffic but irritates regional economic players.
The CEA, born in 2021 from the merger of the departmental councils of the Lower Rhine and the Upper Rhine, wants to impose from 2027 a tax, called “R-Pass”, of 0.15 euros per kilometer for trucks over 3.5 tons circulating. a north-south axis through Alsace, in order to reduce the significant flow of trucks avoiding neighboring German motorways with higher tolls.
Because on the other side of the Rhine, the German authorities implemented a tax in 2005, which increased to 0.34 euros/kilometer in January 2024.
Truck traffic increases 20% in six months
This increase in the German tax caused an increase in traffic “of almost 20% in the first six months” and of “30%” in August and September on the north-south motorway network of Alsace, explained the president of the CEA , Frédéric Bierry. , during a plenary session in Colmar (Haut-Rhin).
After stating that there is “a strong demand” to “better regulate this traffic”, Frédéric Bierry assured that the “R-pass” will have the effects of “less noise, better air, an immediate and less polluted environment for the residents of these areas.” . roads.
“It also means less degraded roads, less maintenance or even repair work, and also savings, which is not neutral in these times,” he stressed.
A blow to the local economy?
But for many Alsatian economic actors, the tax could deal a fatal blow to certain companies in the region. Between 100 and 150 people demonstrated on Monday morning in front of the European Community of Alsace in Colmar, while a hundred protesters, including many farmers, threw tires in front of the CEA premises in Strasbourg.
Among them, Augustin Wacq, 29, denounced a tax that was “totally useless in relation to the basic objective, which is to reduce road traffic.” “This tax on heavy vehicles will only fill the coffers of the CEA and increase the food wallets of households, since the additional cost of transportation will be passed on to the final product,” says this farmer.
“We do not understand why the CEA poses with this tax a new risk for our companies and our employment,” the three presidents of the Chambers of Commerce, Agriculture and Trades of Alsace, Jean-Luc Heimburger, also expressed their concern in a joint statement. Denis Nass and Jean-Luc Hoffmann.
Citing the Deloitte impact study commissioned by the CEA, they maintain that this tax would mean “removing 64 million euros a year from the economy” and could lead to the destruction of 1,500 jobs in Alsace in the transport sector, while at the same time would increase. prices for consumers.
Reinject income into the economy
On October 7, a snail operation was organized at the initiative of the National Road Transport Federation.
However, some stakeholders, including the Alsace Public Works Federation, expressed support for the project and stressed that the revenue would be reallocated to the local economy, as promised by Frédéric Bierry.
The tax should make it possible, in particular, to finance the transition to two and three lanes of the highway linking Colmar with Sélestat, a project that will cost between 150 and 200 million euros.
Frédéric Bierry assured on Monday that the consultation will continue for at least one more year to determine implementation methods and study “possible compensations for all companies because, obviously, our challenge is to reduce transit traffic, but not to penalize the economic world.” .
Source: BFM TV
