Parisians vote on banning e-scooters from French capital
Parisians are voting on Sunday on whether to rid the streets of the French capital of electric scooters, although some say the city’s leaders ought to be focusing on more pressing issues.
Paris was a pioneer when it introduced e-scooters, or trottinettes, in 2018 as the city’s authorities sought to promote non-polluting forms of urban transport.
But as the two-wheeled vehicles grew in popularity, especially among young people, so did the number of accidents: in 2022, three people died and 459 were injured in e-scooter accidents in Paris.
In what is being billed as a “public consultation” voters are being asked: “For or against self-service scooters?”
Twenty-one polling stations have been set up across the city and will be open until 7pm local time, with the result expected at around 10pm.
Some 1.6 million people are eligible to vote, but turnout is expected to be low.
Although Paris’s socialist mayor, Anne Hidalgo, has promoted cycling and bike-sharing, she supports a ban on e-scooters.
In an interview with AFP last week, Hidalgo said “self-service scooters are the source of tension and worry” for Parisians and that a ban would “reduce nuisance” in public spaces. However, she promised to respect the outcome of the vote even if it is not legally binding.
Paris hosts almost 15,000 e-scooters across its streets, operated by companies including Lime, Dott and Tier.
Detractors argue that e-scooter users disrespect the rules of the road and regularly flout a ban on riding on pavements. Meanwhile, the vehicles are often haphazardly parked or thrown into the River Seine.
In June 2021, a 31-year-old Italian woman was killed after being hit by an e-scooter with two passengers on board while walking along the Seine.
“Scooters have become my
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