Lyon: ZFE Métropole de Lyon
Lyon runs one of France's strictest low-emission zones, and unusually it applies around the clock — there is no evening or weekend window in which an older car becomes legal again. Crit'Air 3 vehicles have been excluded since January 2025, which catches out a lot of ordinary mid-2000s diesels.
Low-Emission Zone · LAST VERIFIED 2026-09-12When it's active
Applies 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to both driving and parking. Unlike Grenoble's zone, there is no time of day at which the restriction lifts.
Which vehicles are affected
Since 1 January 2025, cars classed Crit'Air 3 and worse are banned — in practice diesels first registered between 2006 and 2010, and petrol or hybrid cars from 1997 to 2005, along with Crit'Air 4, Crit'Air 5 and unclassified vehicles.
Registering a foreign or rental vehicle
A Crit'Air sticker is required for any motorised vehicle in the zone, foreign plates included, and it cannot be bought on arrival. Order it from the official government site before you travel: €3.11 plus €2.00 postage outside France, using a legible photo or scan of your vehicle registration document. It is posted to you, so allow time.
How it's enforced
Checked at roadside; the Crit'Air sticker must be displayed on the windscreen to count.
Exemptions
The metropole runs assistance and derogation schemes for affected vehicles — check its "aides & dérogations" pages if your car falls into a restricted class.
Where the zone is
Covers Lyon and Caluire-et-Cuire plus parts of Villeurbanne, Bron and Vénissieux, inside the Laurent Bonnevay ring road, along with structuring roads including the M6, the M7 and the northern ring road.