Scooters from the operator Lime in a street in the 16th arrondissement, in Paris. A leader in the sector, it considers the capital to be one of the five most profitable cities in its network. ARNAUD ROBIN/Le Figaro Magazine
DECRYPTION – The inhabitants of the capital decide on Sunday whether or not to maintain this service.
For a company, there is a more comfortable situation. In the capital, the operators of “free floating” scooters are playing their future at double or quits this Sunday. Consulted by referendum, the Parisians will say if they are “for or against self-service scooters”. The mayor of Paris, Anne Hildago, who is on the no side, has promised: if the opposition wins, these 15,000 machines operated by Lime, Tier and Dott will disappear at the end of August. To snatch a positive vote, the brands take out the heavy artillery. Together, they pay influencers on Tiktok who post videos in favor of scooters.
They also sign very explicit messages on social networks, like this one: “A Paris without scooters, it’s your return from the evening that costs more than your evening.” At the end of February, Lime even offered ten minutes of free travel on its scooters to those who provided proof of their registration on the electoral lists in Paris before March 3…
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