Grenoble, Strasbourg and Rennes were elected by cyclists as the most “cyclable” of France, according to a barometer published Thursday, while La Rochelle, Saint-Aubin-de-Médoc and Saint-Jean-des-Monts stood out in the other categories of cities.
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Rennes joins this year the two French capitals of the bicycle in front of Annecy, Nantes, Lyon and Tours, according to this biennial barometer presented Thursday by the Federation of the users of the bicycle (FUB), which holds its congress in Tours. La Rochelle, Bourg-en-Bresse and Chambéry rank as the best mid-sized cities, the worst rated category of all. Saint-Aubin-de-Médoc, Le Tech and Séné are the best suburban communes, respectively located near Bordeaux, Arcachon and Vannes. “The cities that do well are those that have historically had a bicycle-oriented policy”, FUB secretary general Séraphin Elie told AFP.
For the third edition of this barometer, the association collected 277,384 online contributions from September 14 to November 30, 2021, and 1,625 municipalities were classified, a sharp increase in participation, with more women and occasional cyclists than in previous years. previous ones. “With the Covid, one would have expected the participation of large cities to increase. But the explosion of participation comes from small towns.said Séraphin Elie. “The bicycle has again become a serious mode of transport and a political object”he pointed out. “Elected officials can no longer ignore the subject. More and more mayors are getting into it, but many are starting from very low”.
On the Atlantic coast, the municipalities have taken over the bike
Saint-Jean-de-Monts (Vendée), Val-de-Reuil (Eure) and Marseillan (Hérault) rank as the best small towns for cycling. La-Tranche-sur-Mer (Vendée), Vieux-Boucau (Landes) and Brétignolles-sur-Mer (Vendée) rank at the top of the best towns and villages. “The towns on the Atlantic coast took up cycling a long time ago, thanks in particular to tourism. They are doing very well. The feeling is positive, even if, in the countryside, we always drive by car»commented Séraphin Elie.
64% of respondents find that the conditions for cycling are bad, and 47.8% that the situation has remained the same for cyclists over the past two years. 36.5% find that it has improved.