• CONTACT US if you have any problems registering for the forums.

Scooters on sidewalks in Paris?

DHC

10+ Posts
Are scooters a new fresh hell in Paris? Last night, while out with some French friends just back in the US, several complained of the menace of electric scooters on streets and even on the sidewalks in Paris. Is this a big problem? (I still haven't recovered from the horrible love locks on Pont des Arts that ruined that bridge and others or that museums allow visitors to block great art works when they pose for selfies or stop to photograph the art when there are perfectly good postcards in the gift shops.) Yet the French are so correcte about so many other behaviors less intrusive than these. What gives?
 
Those scooters are obnoxious as hell. Many of the riders are not only young and able-bodied and look as though they should walk more but are also English-speaking, in fact with an North American accent. These exerise-deprived young tourists especially like ride in large groups down the sidewalks around the Louvre and along the Seine (instead of down on the nearby Berges that have bike lanes).
 
It's strange that in many cities the proliferation of electric bikes and electric scooters has caught the municipalities off guard, without proper regulation prepared ahead of time. At first the vehicles are seen as ecological and beneficial until their numbers become a problem, the regulators waking up only when the serious casualties begin. This is the situation in Tel Aviv as well, and probably much worse than in Paris - they pose a danger both to pedestrians and car drivers.

About a third of electric scooter riders in France are foreign tourists, says this article.
 
It's what I call the Uberization/Airbnb-isation of the world, aka "Better to ask for forgiveness than to seek permission." These companies have aggressively moved in everywhere then try to work out the regulations and problems later . . . if they try at all. In the meantime, people get used to the service, the lawsuits drag out, and the services become part of the fabric of the city. It's a bullying, I-dare-you approach. But aren't we part of the general problem, too, if not with scooters then with airbnb or Uber if we've used them? Guilty, though not with scooters.
 
Last edited:
Well put, DHC.
Btw, having two persons on the same scooter is strictly forbidden. Yesterday I saw an English-speaking family, father with one child on one scooter, mother with another child on another scooter, riding on the pedestrian sidewalk. I can't describe to you the shame I felt.
 
Maybe pedestrians should be the ones wearing the helmets and shin guards!!!
 
Last edited:
We were there earlier this month and it was terrible. We saw 3 different kinds of scooters and bikes. There are the normal small scooters, but there are also larger scooters that you sit on, they have large balloon type tires. They are much faster than the scooters you stand on.

Many of the riders are not competent and are a danger to pedestrians as well as themselves. Apparently some people are taking justice into their own hands and throwing the things into the Seine. We took a long walk on both sides and saw them in the river.
 
Apparently some people are taking justice into their own hands and throwing the things into the Seine. We took a long walk on both sides and saw them in the river.

Same thing is happening in Tel Aviv - people throwing unattended scooters into the garbage dumpsters. I've heard that some people even smear dog feces on the handlebars (!).

It's a shame in a way - electric is the future, and many people using these e-scooters/e-bikes are not taking cars, taxis, or buses anymore, or less frequently at least. Another example of how many municipalities are still asleep and have got their priorities mixed up - instead of implementing intelligent policies that give the proper solutions for pedestrians, bikes, electric vehicles, cars and public transportation, they let the laws of the jungle rule, afraid to upset this or that part of the electorate.
 
Talking to a few French persons last year, in the Alsace, the consistent refrain was complaining about the mobs in Paris. We also heard that Paris was dirty or at least dirtier than in the past. Combine too many people with out of control ill mannered folks on scooters, where they should not be, and you have a real mess. We were hoping to visit Paris in November but now not sure if we will. Sad :(
 
Perhaps it's not as clean as it used to be, but I wouldn't call Paris "dirty", for a large city I think it is cleaner than most. The scooter people are annoying, but apparently the government is trying to deal with it. I would not let either situation deter you from visiting the city.

Besides, as far as the scooter people, you are in much more danger from bicyclists walking the streets of Amsterdam!
 
Thanks for the reply. The French I talked to were where the dirty comment came from. I have no recent experience. We were last in Paris September 2010 and although pretty busy not overwhelmingly so at least where and when we traveled/walked about. There were the usual hustlers and a few Muslim women begging but not a bother for us. The French waiters one hears negative things about we found to be delightful and helpful. So, OK, November is back on the to-do list. :)

p.s. mountain bikers on the single tracks around here are something to watch out for. They really move.
 
The Bicycle Architecture Biennale is taking place in Holland right now.
This is where urban administrators should be inspired.


"BYCS is an Amsterdam-based social enterprise driven by the belief that bicycles transform cities and cities transform the world. Our mission is called 50by30: 50% of all trips by bicycle by 2030. It demands the brightest ideas and the most determined action. And we believe it will lead to a fundamental increase in health, happiness and prosperity for all. We work towards 50by30 through initiating, testing and scaling breakthrough ideas around cycling. In all our work, we always ask – ‘where can the bicycle take us?’ "
 
Anti-scooter Parisians have escalated from blackening the QR-code to throwing scooters into the Seine. It is reported that 60 to 70 scooterse are fished out of the river everyday. Only 70 ? Parisians are so lazy. Sheesh.
 
Not in Paris, but right here in North Carolina, scooters have been a huge issue for Raleigh. So many accidents, so many problems. Durham is now trying them. We've had bikes in downtown for awhile, but the scooters bring out the daredevils, who have no concern about the pedestrians.
 

How to Find Information

Search using the search button in the upper right. Search all forums or current forum by keyword or member. Advanced search gives you more options.

Filter forum threads using the filter pulldown above the threads. Filter by prefix, member, date. Or click on a thread title prefix to see all threads with that prefix.

Sponsors

Booking.com Hotels in Europe
AutoEurope.com Car Rentals

Recommended Guides, Apps and Books

52 Things to See and Do in Basilicata by Valerie Fortney
Italian Food & Life Rules by Ann Reavis
Italian Food Decoder App by Dana Facaros, Michael Pauls
French Food Decoder App by Dana Facaros, Michael Pauls
She Left No Note, Lake Iseo Italy Mystery 1 by J L Crellina

Share this page

Back
Top