Paris votes on ban for rental e-scooters

Residents of Paris voted Sunday on whether to banish for-hire electric scooters from the streets of the French capital. City authorities once welcomed operators of app-based rental scooters with open arms, seeing them as an emissions-free alternative to cars and motorbikes.

But after a chaotic introduction in 2018, city hall has progressively tightened regulations, creating designated parking zones, limiting the top speed and restricting the number of operators. Their presence remains controversial, with pedestrians complaining about reckless driving while a spate of fatal accidents has highlighted the dangers of vehicles that can currently be hired by children as young as 12.

The consultation will not affect privately owned electric scooters, of which 700,000 were sold nationwide last year. Around 100,000 journeys are completed each day in France on rented e-scooters in around 200 towns and cities.