Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne presented an ambitious bicycle plan on Friday which provides for 2 billion euros of investment until the end of the five-year term to improve infrastructure and promote the practice of cycling in order to contribute to the decarbonization of transport in France.
“While half of car journeys are less than five kilometers, the bicycle must have its place” to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions, insisted Elisabeth Borne during an introductory speech at the government seminar presenting the cycling and walking plan 2023-2027.
1.25 billion euros of investment
The Prime Minister, Minister Delegate for Transport at the start of Emmanuel Macron’s first five-year term, had already presented a bicycle plan in 2018. Endowed with 300 million euros over seven years, it was finally recalibrated to 500 million euros on five years thanks to credits from the post-Covid recovery plan.
“We have built 17,000 kilometers of additional cycle paths and greenways” over the past five years, welcomed Elisabeth Borne. Since 2019, “the use of bicycle infrastructures has increased by a third”, she added. This new cycling plan therefore plans to continue the work started and to accelerate it. One of the objectives is to “better combine the use of bicycles with public transport.
Intermodality is one of the major challenges that we must meet”, insisted the Prime Minister. The majority of the planned investments will therefore focus on the development of secure infrastructure and cycle routes to guarantee the safety of cyclists, up to 1, 25 billion euros, or 250 million euros per year.
A desire to develop the industrial bicycle sector
The government wishes to establish a dialogue with local authorities “to mobilize 6 billion euros for cycling by the end of the five-year period”. Apart from the development of infrastructure, the plan plans to train 850,000 children a year in cycling by 2027 to develop the cycling culture in the country.
“We also aim to better promote the potential for tourism and services linked to cycling”, underlined Elisabeth Borne. Finally, France wishes to develop the industrial bicycle sector. Nearly 2.9 million bicycles were sold in France in 2022, twice as many as cars.
“Last year, 850,000 bicycles were assembled – in the territory – we want to reach 1.4 million by 2027 and 2 million bicycles per year by 2030”, set Elisabeth Borne as a goal.