Since January 1, France no longer accepts, on its territory, foreign trucks over 40 tonnes (it was 44 so far). It does not seem like much, but it will have consequences on the traffic here. We are talking about 26,000 additional trucks in Belgium each year.
From now on, thousands of Belgian trucks which travel to France every day can no longer be filled. “For example, this truck can only carry 80% of its load”, shows us Yvan Persoon, managing director of the Dubacqué transport company. And 80% of Yvan’s trucks go to France, which is a concern today. So far it has worked with 80 heavyweights. A figure that he will have to revise upwards.
“We can transport less so there will be more trucks on the road. There are traffic jams everywhere. Everyone complains about having an immeasurable number of trucks …”, adds Yvan Persoon. It will therefore be even worse, with 26,000 more heavy goods vehicles per year on our roads. Who says more trucks, also says more drivers, which will also pose a problem.
“The transport sector is in serious shortage of drivers. So when we are told that we have to find 15% of drivers, it is obviously a problem. There is an invoice to pay and as always it is the consumer who will. to pay”, explains Michaël Reul, secretary general of the UPTR (the Professional Union of Transport and Logistics)
It’s not just the carriers that will be impacted. Many sectors will also be affected. For example, quarries, and especially those close to the French border, such as that in Tournai.
“To be precise, for CCB, this should add 6 to 7,000 trucks each year on the roads and an additional cost in terms of the annual transport price of around 750,000 euros”, says Fabrice Delaunoy, director of the aggregates section at CCB, a company specializing in quarrying.
Several Belgian organizations therefore denounce a French “protectionist” measure, because this 40-tonne law does not apply to French trucks.
“This will represent 5 million additional costs which will be difficult to pass on. It is estimated that this is a totally discriminatory measure and which infringes all the rules of European law”, estimates Michel Calozet, managing director of Fediex (federation of the extractive industry in Belgium).
This is why various industrial and transport organizations have appealed to the French Council of State. But he may not be treated for many months.