For or against self-service scooters?”: Parisians were called on this Sunday to vote for or against maintaining this service.

They voted by a majority against making Paris the only European capital to completely ban self-service scooters.

Endgame for the three self-service electric scooter rental operators, Lime, Tier and Dott. 89.03% of Parisians who took part in this exceptional “citizens’ vote” voted no. Of the 1,300,000 registered, only 103,000 moved (7.4% participation), according to France 3.

The mayor’s office may or may not renew contracts authorizing the three private operators to deploy 5,000 scooters each in the capital. These contracts expire on August 31.

“On September 1, there will be no more self-service scooters in Paris,” Anne Hidalgo, Mayor (PS) of Paris, said after the vote, hailing a “victory for local democracy” and declaring herself “surprised by the scale of the rejection.” He adds: “We plan to repeat this exercise (of voting) every year, in spring.”

Electric scooters were involved in 408 accidents in Paris in 2022, in which three people died and 459 were injured, according to the authorities.

Paris, Europe’s first capital without self-service scooters

Regardless of the abstention among some 1.3 million registered voters, Socialist Mayor Anne Hidalgo again pledged this Sunday “to respect the result outright”. She herself campaigned for the ‘no’ vote.

Operators have actively campaigned for their survival in the capital, even offering a free race on voting day, or using social media influencers to mobilize their young clientele. “Legally”, defended RMC Nicolas Gorse, Dott’s managing director, on behalf of the three operators.

He warned of the economic consequences of a ban, as scooters in Paris account for 15% of Dott’s turnover, which employs 800 people in Paris.