The inhabitants of the capital are called to vote, Sunday April 2, “for or against self-service scooters”as part of a risky citizen vote for the mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, and which arouses the anger of the operators of these machines, the companies Tier, Lime and Dott.
Introduced in the streets of the capital in 2018 to promote soft travel, the fifteen thousand scooters available in Paris are today the subject of criticism: according to their detractors, they are dangerous both for users and for pedestrians, regularly abandoned in the public space, all for a questionable carbon footprint. Self-service scooters have become “a subject of tension” among Parisians, estimated Mme Hidalgo in an interview with Agence France-Presse (AFP), a few days before the election.
The town hall therefore decided, in January, to organize an unprecedented vote so that the inhabitants decide their destiny, while the agreements for the occupation of public space that the operators have concluded with the City of Paris are soon to be due date. How does this vote work? Is it binding? Why is it disputed? Explanations.
A vote with criticized methods
In total, 1.3 million Parisians, i.e. those registered on the municipal electoral lists, are called to go to the polls, in one of the 203 polling stations (open from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.), gathered on 21 sites, within the district which corresponds to their address of registration on the electoral lists. The final results will be announced around 10 p.m. by the chairman of the committee in charge of monitoring the vote and will be published on the Paris City Hall website.
The three self-service scooter operators demanded, for their part, the organization of an electronic vote and the possibility of making proxies, to hope for a strong participation of young Parisians, more numerous to use this mode of transport than their elders. They recall that only 33% of 18-24 year olds “have already heard of the vote”against “77% of 50-64 year olds and 90% of 65 year olds and over”according to a Harris Interactive poll.
Concerned about the outcome of the ballot, operators have mobilized widely in recent days, including with contested methods, in particular by making races free on Sunday or by paying influencers on social networks. At the same time, they distributed leaflets in front of Parisian universities, and paraded on Friday during the traditional crossing of Paris on rollerblades.
The participation rate remains at this stage the great unknown of the ballot, while more than 45,000 runners are expected in the capital for the Paris marathon and after a month of March marked by numerous demonstrations against the pension reform. “Never mind the number”, retorted Anne Hidalgo, questioned by AFP. THE “tools of participatory democracy improve by using them”she argued.
A politically contested vote
The announcement of this consultation, in January, did not win the support of the members of the left majority at the Council of Paris. Some communists and environmentalists showed little enthusiasm for this initiative, believing that other topics were more important, such as rentals on the Airbnb platform.
Anne Hidalgo had undertaken to organize a consultation on this subject after the municipal elections of 2020, but this has not taken place at this stage. The initiative is also a source of division among environmentalists. The Europe Ecology-The Greens (EELV) deputy for mobility, David Belliard, is campaigning ” against “ scooters, while another party figure, MEP Karima Delli, called for them to be saved.
The only left-wing opponent of the Paris City Council, Laurent Sorel (La France insoumise), is in favor of banning scooters, but anticipates a ” prank call “ in view of “the sloppy organization of this consultation”with “a few posters here and there and timid information meetings”. He denounces “a political maneuver” of Anne Hidalgo and believes that this “non-campaign” first serves the Minister of Transport, Clément Beaune, who “take the opportunity to make the presidential party exist in the capital”.
The minister, who is said to have the ambition to take over the town hall in 2026, announced a plan to regulate the use of scooters on Wednesday, regretting in passing that this debate was “caricatured and simplified”. “Scooters can be a chance if they are well organized, well regulated”reacted Mr. Beaune on this occasion.
The right-wing opposition to the Council of Paris, for its part, chose not to call for a vote. “The higher the abstention, the more Parisians will show their indifference towards this publicity stunt by Anne Hidalgo”, assumes the group Les Républicains (LR) and related. For the mayor LR of 6e district, Jean-Pierre Lecoq, “the Parisian executive is only looking to have a decision validated by a vote that it has already taken but that it does not want to assume alone”.
An advisory vote
This vote has only an advisory character, the Town Hall having the last word. “The opinion of Parisians will commit me”nevertheless affirmed Anne Hidalgo in her interview with AFP. “This citizen vote, which is a first, is similar to a referendum, even if it does not have the legal form”, added the mayor of Paris. Mme Hidalgo has already made it known that it is leaning towards the withdrawal of self-service scooters in the capital. “My idea is that we stop”she said in an interview with Parisian January 14.