Electric Scooter Rental Outlawed In Paris

Starting September 1, 2023, “trottinette électrique”, self-renting electric scooters, will be banned in Paris. After the green light issued by the French capital’s city hall back in 2018, the chaotic and often dangerous movement of this transport became the subject of heated debate between the authorities and society, during which the impossibility of “setting rules for the safe use of electric scooters” had to be finally acknowledged.
As French newspapers wrote, “the municipal authorities of Paris were so shocked by this phenomenon that even the mayor Ann Hidalgo, a fan of bicycles and enemy of automobiles, took an active part in the social campaign for the ban.”
As a result, the Parisian authorities held a popular referendum, which last spring, by an absolute majority (90% of votes in favor of the ban), put an end to the use of rental electric scooters. Three operators that shared a very lucrative market were not renewed their respective licenses. However, the ban does not apply to French private scooters and does not cover the suburbs of the capital.
Paris thus becomes the first European capital to completely ban electric scooter rentals, much to the relief of motorists and pedestrians alike.
In the last days of August, it was very rare to see rental scooters in the center of Paris. More than 15,000 scooters were transported to Germany and several other cities in France. All three companies have decided to rely on their customers to “switch to bicycles” (which they already offer). This should allow them to avoid mass layoffs at rental companies, at least for now.
Now the Parisian authorities have to decide how best to use the very valuable Parisian land freed from the former “Trottinette électrique” car parks.