between progress and progress to be made for people in wheelchairs

Damien Meyer, a resident of Maizières-Lès-Metz (Moselle), can neither go to the butcher nor go buy his bread. A large part of the shops is not accessible to him. On pedestrian crossings, he cannot climb onto the sidewalk, which is too high. Same problems a few kilometers away for Suzanne Barbenson, in Vitry-sur-Orne (Moselle). She has to take the road to go shopping. “We have integrated it into our usual reflections. So each time we renovate, we redo to standards”reports the mayor, Luc Corradi.

In this village of 3,000 inhabitants, there has been progress. Like a ramp that leads to the town hall. In the social center, the Elders meet every week. In the renovated building, the doorways have been widened, the bar brought up to chair height and the toilets more spacious. In France, 12 million people are affected by a disability and nearly one million have reduced mobility.