Let's be More French

Specifically more Parisian.

I'm not talking about the current protest, but the recent plebiscite in Paris where they voted to ban e-scooters. 

I do not have a problem with renting bikes or scooters, provided that the suppliers of such services require that they be docked at locations paid for by the providers of these services.

Dockless scooters and their ilk make their money by polluting the public sidewalks:

An overwhelming majority of Parisians voted to ban electric scooters from the streets of the French capital on Sunday, in a non-binding referendum that city authorities have said they would follow.

The ban won between 85.77% and 91.77% of the votes in the 20 Paris districts that published results, according to the City of Paris website on what was billed as a rare “public consultation” and prompted long queues at ballot boxes around the city.


“I preferred to vote against, because in Paris it’s a mess,” railway worker Ibrahim Beutchoutak, 47, told Reuters TV. “The way it’s organized, the danger that it creates in Paris, the visual pollution, it’s not good.”

Cities worldwide are tightening regulations on e-scooters, limiting the number of operators as well as speed and where they can park.

The business model is to monetize, and essentially privatize public spaces.

Nice to see that Parisians have no patience for that.