The stakes of air pollution in the transport sector, from the French case

The main pollutants are listed for today and the future according to the progression of air quality, as measured in France and in the European Union during the 1990s, the progression of pollutant emissions of road transport in France, as calculated for the period 1970–2020, and the progression of public concern regarding air pollution and environment. These pollutants are headed by carbon dioxide, followed by nitrogen oxides and fine particulates. The stakes in terms of technology and transport supply and demand are assessed. These stakes for society allow us to propose several directions of research in the field of air pollution that respond more to current problems than to those of the past (greenhouse effect, sensitive pollution, photochemical pollution, life cycle approach, aggregated indicators).