On a Paris-Lyon, you pay 41 euros toll. But according to a 2021 General Inspectorate of Finance report, you should only pay 15 euros. The overpayment reached, according to this same report, 58% of the actual price. Figures that make you think, at a time when 64% of French people plan to take the car to reach their vacation spot, according to an OpinionWay study for Ulys.
Since the privatization of motorway concessions in 2006, tariff increases have followed one another without interruption (+4.75% in 2023; +3% in 2024; +0.92% in 2025), weighing on the budgets of households already weakened by the surge in fuel prices. Because if the highway has a price, it is also because it has shareholders. According to reports from the Transport Regulatory Authority, 35 euros on every 100 euros of tolls paid go directly as dividends to the concession companies.
The highway, a public service that benefits the private sector
The highway is legally classified as an administrative public service. However, its economic model is more akin to that of an ultra-profitable financial asset. “Would you accept that a hospital, a school, the army or the police generate 35% profit for the owner and operator? »asks Maître Christophe Lèguevaques, lawyer at the Paris bar and co-founder of the MyLeo platform. There is a “clear disproportion between the service provided and the price paid”. Every year, concession companies distribute billions of euros in dividends, a windfall made up largely on the backs of motorists.
Why do the French continue to pay?
However, they are 12 million to hold a TDPH type electronic toll subscription. The reason is simple: the highway offers safety and saves time. “When you cross France from Paris to Marseille passing through all the villages, you will be significantly slowed down”recalls Maître Lèguevaques. Not forgetting tractors, crossroads and winding roads. The electronic toll badge makes things even easier: you pass, you no longer count and “we consume more without realizing it”he admits. A comfort that accommodates the concessions.
Collective action to contest prices
As millions of motorists prepare to hit the road again for vacation, the MyLeo platform (which simplifies access to justice by preparing cases for lawyers and providing a link between individuals and legal professionals) has just reached the milestone of 1,200 participants in its “Péage Autoroute” collective action. Its closing is scheduled for the end of June. Its aim is to obtain compensation for sums potentially unduly collected by dealers. “The milestone of 1,200 participants shows that motorists now want to make their voices heard”declares Maître Lèguevaques. If the action ends up before the Council of State, the entire tariff system could be called into question. And all subscribers would benefit.
