Paris votes to ban rental e-scooters
Paris voted overwhelmingly Sunday to banish for-hire electric scooters from the streets of the French capital, delivering a blow to operators and a victory for road safety campaigners.
The referendum means the City of Light, once a pioneer in embracing e-scooter services, is set to become the only major European capital to outlaw the widespread devices booked on apps such as Lime.
The city's residents were asked to weigh in for or against them in a public consultation organised by mayor Anne Hidalgo, with nearly 90 percent of the votes cast against, official results showed.
"We're happy. It's what we've been fighting for over four years," said Arnaud Kielbasa, co-founder of the Apacauvi charity, which represents victims of e-scooter accidents.
"All Parisians say they are nervous on the pavements, nervous when they cross the roads. You need to look everywhere," Kielbasa, whose wife and infant daughter were hit by an e-scooter driver, told AFP. "That's why they've voted against them."
Operators say they are being unfairly singled out as responsable for the often chaotic nature of Paris streets, where mayor Hidalgo has championed bikes and other forms of non-emitting transport since coming to power in 2014.
Her administration welcomed e-scooter operators with open arms in 2018, but it has progressively tightened regulations since, creating designated parking zones, limiting the top speed and restricting the number of operators.
But such measures have failed to convince residents, who often complain about reckless and drunken driving, as well as clutter on pavements.
A spate of fatal accidents has also highlighted the dangers of vehicles that can currently be hired by children as young as 12.
"I'm committed to respecting the choice
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