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Parisians voted Sunday in a referendum to ban e-scooter rentals in the French capital. While they have become commonplace since they were first introduced in 2018, a rising accident toll has hardened attitudes towards the “trottinette”.
Results from the Paris mayor’s office showed that nearly 90 percent of votes in a city-wide referendum had been cast against rental e-scooters, a decision which mayor Anne Hidalgo has promised to respect.
Self-service e-scooters have become commonplace on the streets of Paris since they were first introduced five years ago, but irresponsible use and a rising accident toll have hardened city hall’s attitude towards the popular mode of transport, which can be rented by the hour and picked up and dropped off anywhere.
When Paris introduced self-service e-scooter rentals in 2018, the city became a world leader in embracing the new mode of transport. The trottinette was billed as a green alternative to cars. Their adoption was spurred by permissive regulation and the rapid expansion of bike lanes in the capital.
But just five years later, Paris residents were asked to vote in a referendum on whether to ban the e-scooter rentals after a spate of accidents prompted safety concerns.
Walking home from a picnic on the banks of the Seine in August 2022, Justine Haley was crossing a set of traffic lights when she was hit by an e-scooter. “I didn’t see it at all and I didn’t hear it,” says the hairdresser in her 40s. “I just remember the power of the scooter hitting my leg, and I fell to the floor on my side.”
As a friend helped Justine get up, the driver who hit her stopped to ask if she was OK and, when Justine said she was, swiftly drove away. “She didn’t wait to see, and I didn’t realise how bad it was because I must have gone into shock.”
Incidents like…
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