MA VOITURE, MA LIBERTÉ ! (vraiment ?) - Mathieu Chassignet

We wrongly assume who drives cars, mistakenly believing that mainly the poor need them, making any anti-car policy 'anti-poor'.

Provide a different angle on cars, understand how they fit into our societies, and how they will evolve in the future given the many beliefs surrounding them.

• French engineer specializing in sustainable mobility • Works for a public institution on environmental issues, mobility, and air quality • Runs a blog and raises awareness about mobility challenges on social networks • Collaborates with media outlets like Alternatives Économiques

Challenge common misconceptions about mobility that prevent us from making sound political decisions.

Contrary to common assumptions, the wealthier you are, the more you use cars, own more of them, and use them for long journeys, including commuting to work.

• We travel an average of 3 to 4 times per day since the 1950s, but distances have been multiplied by 4 (4 km to work in the 1960s, versus 15 km today) • 3-fold difference between the poorest 10% and richest 10% in kilometers driven • The wealthiest have higher vehicle ownership rates, use cars more than alternatives, and drive longer distances

Affluent households live further from work on average (by choice), while the poor's distance is imposed; Toulouse's map shows wealthy residents settled in suburban rings 10–25 km from the center.

Poor households own older cars (average 13.7 years versus 8 years for the wealthy) and are therefore more affected by low-emission zone restrictions, even though they use cars less overall.

The idea that cycling is reserved for wealthy categories or that winter weather prevents it is widely challenged by the data.

• The share of bike trips is fairly constant across income levels, with no strong correlation • Managers cycle the most (5% of trips), closely followed by the unemployed and students • This cycling trend among managers is recent: in 2008 they were far less likely to cycle

In Lyon, the difference in cycling between summer and winter is not huge (20–30% gap), and winter cycling has sometimes even exceeded the previous summer.

42% of trips under 1 km for work are done by car, and 15% of car trips in France are under 2 km, 62% under 10 km: real potential to shift to cycling.

Half of Brussels residents use a car for trips under 2 km, figures comparable to those observed in France.

• Combined trips (dropping a child at school while going to work) • Stopping along the way to run errands • Need to carry items (groceries, stroller)

The car reflex is entrenched by advertising that sells the fantasy of automotive freedom and by daily routines hard to break (GPS, no mental load).

Financial incentives for employees cycling to work, hard-hitting communication campaigns, or simply a child's remark questioning parents about car use for short distances.

Pedestrianizing city centers is often accused of killing retail, an argument comparable to defending private jets.

City centers mainly suffer from e-commerce competition and suburban shopping zones whose expansion was widely permitted.

• 3/4 of city center customers live within 2 km (neighborhood clientele) • In Lille, only 21% of shop customers arrive by car, 42% on foot • In small towns too, as many customers walk as arrive by car • Only 20% of people demand better traffic/parking conditions, 80% want green spaces, bike lanes, and wider sidewalks

In Nancy, shopkeepers believe 77% of their customers arrive by car when reality shows 35%, explaining their systematic opposition to urban transformation projects.

Despite battery manufacturing emissions, electric cars emit far less CO2 than combustion engines over their lifetime, even in countries with carbon-intensive grids like Poland or Germany.

• A standard battery weighs about 250 kg, up to 500–600 kg in an SUV • A large SUV emits 117% more CO2 than a small car, that is 20 tonnes versus 9 tonnes for a city car • With 100 kWh, you can make one large SUV battery, two city car batteries, or 200 electric-assisted bikes

A French driver travels more than 200 km from home only twice a year on average by car, making it irrational to buy large batteries for rarely-used autonomy.

Faced with resource scarcity (cobalt, nickel, lithium), large vehicles deprive other users of rare materials and benefit only the wealthy.

Cars have become a cultural marker of social success, sold as objects of desire and freedom, including in political discourse and rap.

• Between 2000 and 2020, the average car sold in France gained 110 kg, 12 cm in width, and 34% in power • SUV market share rose from 5% in 2008–2009 to 47% today • Profit margins are higher on larger models, pushing manufacturers to promote them

€4.3 billion is spent on automotive advertising in France, over €2,000 of advertising per car sold; automobiles are the second-largest advertising sector after retail.

Engine efficiency gains are canceled by increased vehicle size and power; with electric cars, low operating costs and autonomous vehicle potential could encourage even more driving.

In the 1960s–70s, iconic places like Notre-Dame square, Lille's Grand-Place, and Place de la Concorde became parking lots, as did some beaches in Brittany and the Landes.

What seemed normal then (parking on a beach) looks shocking today, showing that social norms around cars evolve over time.

In Japan, you must prove you own a parking space to buy a car, and street parking is forbidden because public space is considered precious.

Despite current resistance to car-restriction policies, history shows such changes are often viewed positively once implemented.