Traveling by plane to destinations within 2.5 hours by train is prohibited in France.
With a vote held in the French Parliament, the proposal to remove domestic flights, which can be traveled by train in less than two and a half hours, was accepted in order to reduce carbon emissions.
The decision taken to combat the climate crisis aims to reduce carbon emissions in France by 40% in 2030 compared to 1990 levels.
The vote came days after Paris announced that it will contribute to the re-capitalization of the national airline Air France with 4 billion euros.
French Industry Minister Agnes Pannier-Runacher rejected the criticism from the aviation industry that “it is impossible to ban some domestic flights” and stated that there is no contradiction between the rescue package made for Air France and the climate plan.
Environmental activists, who find the content of the bill insufficient, demand that two and a half hours are less, and that domestic flights under four hours be removed.
Environmentalists have also accused President Emmanuel Macron of diluting his previous promises to tackle the climate crisis.
Voting in the National Assembly is the first step. The bill will then be re-voted in the Senate and then in the lower house, where Macron’s ruling party and its allies have the majority, for the third and final vote.
Meanwhile, analysts predict that air traffic may not return to pre-epidemic levels before 2024.
