On April 2, a majority of Parisians voted to ban electric scooters from the streets of the French capital.
Although the referendum is not mandatory, Paris city officials said they would defer to the majority.
On the website of the Paris city government, the proportion of citizens who voted to ban electric scooters ranged from 85.77% to 91.77% in the 20 districts where the results were announced.
The move comes as many other cities around the world are tightening regulations on e-scooters to limit the number of users, speeds and parking spaces.
In 2021, 24 people died in scooter-related accidents in France, including one in Paris. In 2022, Paris recorded 459 accidents involving e-scooters and similar vehicles, in which 3 people were killed.
From 2018, Parisians can register to use electric scooters via a smartphone app. But after criticism of the implementation, Paris reduced the operators of such vehicles to three from 2020, signing them with three-year contracts and requiring top speeds. The speed of the scooter is 20 km/h and the parking area must be designed. The existing contract expires in September.
For drivers of such vehicles, they have added additional requirements, such as checking that users must be at least 18 years old and attaching license plates for police to identify traffic violators. Shipping, limited to 1 vehicle user.