for people with reduced mobility, obstacles in everyday life

Pierre-Emmanuel Robert, an APF France Handicap activist, has been using a wheelchair for fifteen years. For the 1pm news, he tested the accessibility of public places. A supermarket seemed accessible because it had a ramp. However, the slope was too steep and the man could not enter the store alone. In the same neighborhood, a hairdresser did not have a ramp, but offered to help him get up the step. Pierre-Emmanuel Robert judged this offer “friendly”, but remember that “the 2005 law provides for the possibility of accessing the service independently.”

The law is almost twenty years old, but the sanctions apply from Thursday, September 26, with a fine of 1,500 euros if a threshold cannot be crossed. In the meantime, Pierre-Emmanuel Robert must plan ahead to go for a drink with friends, because accessible bars and cafes only represent 20% of establishments.