Citizens opposed to Low Emission Zones (BEZs) began slow marches in various parts of Spain this weekend. The unrest over the ban on the entry of the most polluting vehicles (those that do not have the DGT label) brought together dozens of associations who organized slow marches to ask the administration to allow their entry into urban centres. “We cannot convert the ZBEs into borders in our own cities”, denounce the interested platform ASOPARC.
Barcelona and Madrid, the two cities with the largest ZBE area with almost 100 square kilometers, brought together the most protests this Saturday. On Sunday it will be Granada’s turn and throughout the following week municipalities such as Tarragona, Santa Coloma de Gramanet and Málaga will join the march. The protest in Barcelona began early in the morning with a slow march that began in Santa Perpetua de la Mogoda, almost 20 kilometers from the Catalan capital, from where almost 350 vehicles departed, according to the organization’s data. The demonstration ended on Avenida de la Reina Maria Cristina, in Plaza de España. Once there, around 200 cars parked under the Venetian Towers. In Madrid, the route of the march organized by the AVARM platform was from Plaza de las Ventas to Puerta de Alcalá.
The slogans were unanimous at all points of the protest. The protesters reject an environmental policy they consider “discriminatory”. “These are arbitrary rules that harm the most vulnerable sectors such as the self-employed. Enough with policies disguised under the umbrella of false environmentalism”, explains Mònica Xufré, vice-president of ASOPARC. “If you can pay, you are a first-class citizen. This is not environmentalism, it is marginalization”, they underline in a joint statement on social networks.
From the platforms of those affected, they avoided linking any protest action to any political party, despite Vox or Aliança Catalana trying to capitalize on their demands and supporting the protests.
The conveners are now focused on extending the ZBE to municipalities with more than 20,000 inhabitants starting from January 1, 2026. So far, the 2021 Climate Change Law obliged 153 municipalities with more than 50,000 inhabitants to implement the rules starting from 2023. So far, the sanctions regime of many municipalities has been lax, a dynamic that the Ministry of Ecological Transition and the Interior intends to reverse through a decree.
Xufré assured that the various bodies are studying to take the DGT and the Ministry of Ecological Transition to court. ASOPARC has been reflected in the French model since the National Assembly annulled the legislation in May after an initiative by sectors of the right, far right and radical left who considered the legislation harmful to low-income families.
“It’s a rule that doesn’t work. In Barcelona traffic has not been reduced, on the contrary, they have compressed the streets and there are more and more home delivery workers and VTC vehicles. The solution involves a structural improvement of public transport”, concluded Xufré.
