To be more precise: in Bordeaux, the decline in revenue from speed camera vehicles in 2025 was based on a projection

29 septembre 2026 4 Min Read

In October 2025, a decrease in revenue from unpaid parking in Bordeaux was projected based on figures from the first half of the year. While the accounts published since then do show a decline in parking revenue accruing to the city, they do not allow us to conclude that the annual revenue from fixed-rate parking fines (FPS) alone has decreased by the same proportion, nor to attribute this decline to automated parking enforcement vehicles. ( politique.pappers.fr )

The claim has been verified

In an article attributed to the newspaper Sud Ouest, dated October 25, 2025, the revenue from parking fines in Bordeaux, estimated at €12.1 million in 2024, « could be lower in 2025. » The newspaper indicated €5.6 million for the first half of 2025 and projected €11.2 million for the year. This was a possibility , not a definitive statement. The article also reported the hypothesis of Didier Jeanjean, then deputy mayor, that the system had reached its « cruising speed. » These half-year figures and this explanation are attributed to the article provided; they do not, on their own, constitute a verified annual report. ( politique.pappers.fr )

What the facts show

The calculation presented for 2025 is accurate as a calculation: doubling 5.6 million gives 11.2 million euros, which is 0.9 million less than the 12.1 million announced for 2024. However, doubling a six-month period does not constitute an annual account . This operation assumes that the revenues of the second half of the year will be identical to those of the first, which the cited data does not demonstrate.

A more recent document provides an important element. In the report accompanying the 2025 single financial statement, presented to the Bordeaux City Council on June 1, 2026, the city indicates that « parking fees and post-parking fines accruing to the city » amounted to approximately €20.57 million in 2025, compared to €24.23 million in 2024. There is therefore a decrease of €3.66 million for this category of municipal revenue. The report specifies, however, that the 2024 amount had been increased by a catch-up payment for the implementation costs of the post-parking fines relating to the years 2022 to 2024. ( politique.pappers.fr )

The verification

The distinction is crucial: the €20.57 million and €24.23 million figures combine several revenue streams accruing to the city . These are not the annual amounts from parking fines alone, as mentioned in the October 2025 article. Therefore, the projected figure of €11.2 million cannot be replaced by €20.57 million, nor can the municipal decrease be interpreted as necessarily reducing the revenue from parking fines received by the metropolitan area. To determine this definitively, a 2025 financial statement isolating parking fines from Bordeaux within a comparable scope to that of 2024 would be necessary. The 2025 single financial statement for Bordeaux Métropole has been published, but the documents consulted do not provide this isolated comparison. ( politique.pappers.fr )

The oversimplification « cars bring in money » also deserves correction. According to the CNIL (French Data Protection Authority), automated license plate recognition is used for preliminary checks : the verification of non-payment or insufficient payment and the issuance of a parking fine must be carried out by an authorized officer. Revenue also depends on motorists’ payments and pricing rules; the passage of a vehicle equipped with a camera does not automatically generate a parking fine. The hypothesis of a mature system remains a possible explanation, but not a proven cause, for the increase in revenue. ( cnil.fr )

Finally, the rates of €35 in the red zone and €30 in the green zone indicated in the provided text do not correspond to those displayed on the city’s website for standard vehicles: €39 in the red zone and €34 in the green zone , before a possible €5 discount for prompt payment. These amounts should not be used without verifying the applicable rate date. ( bordeaux.fr )

Sources and data

This verification compares the projection formulated in October 2025 with the municipal report covering the entire 2025 fiscal year, then distinguishes the city’s total revenue from the sole proceeds of parking fines. It also relies on budget documents published by Bordeaux Métropole, the city’s fee schedule, and the rules outlined by the CNIL (French Data Protection Authority). The limitation remains the absence, in the documents examined, of a 2025 annual figure for parking fines alone that is directly comparable to the €12.1 million cited for 2024. ( politique.pappers.fr )

Verdict

Verdict: impossible to confirm. The projected decrease in October 2025 was not presented as a certainty. Subsequent accounts show a decrease in a broader range of parking revenues accruing to Bordeaux, but do not confirm, within the same scope, that parking fines alone generated less revenue for the metropolitan area in 2025 than in 2024. Nor do they demonstrate that enforcement vehicles are the cause. ( politique.pappers.fr )

Key takeaways

The projection of €11.2 million was a scenario, not a result. The decline observed in the city’s accounts suggests that 2025 will be a less profitable year for its parking revenues taken as a whole; however, this is insufficient to validate the figure announced for parking fines or the explanation given regarding cars. ( politique.pappers.fr )

Main source: The truth and the lies (www.sudouest.fr)

Original article: See the original source