The long and complex project of accessibility for disabled people in Paris is being put in the spotlight with the Paralympic Games, from August 28 to September 8, with the issue of the French capital’s metro at the forefront.
Nearly a million French people, including 8% of the 2.1 million Parisians, are disabled.
The maze of corridors and staircases in stations that often have no lift, as well as platforms that are not adjusted to the height of the trains, make the Paris network a mobility black spot for these people.
The president of the region and its transport authority, Valérie Pécresse, made it the “next challenge” of the decade at the beginning of August, and the Paris municipality has committed to advocating for the project after the Games.
“We will not be able to make the network 100% accessible” due to historical constraints, believes Pierre Deniziot, regional councillor and administrator of the transport authority, but “where we can, we must do it”.
As the Paralympic Games approach, only 29 stations on the Paris metro on two lines are accessible. The tram and bus lines, however, are “100%” accessible, according to the city hall. On the regional network, four out of five stations, handling 95% of traffic, have been developed for the Games, assures the transport authority.
However, Nicolas Mérille, national accessibility advisor for the APF France Handicap association, denounces “a segregation that does not say its name: people with disabilities do not have the same daily life at all.”
“We have no right to any spontaneity,” with “always disruptions in our movements everywhere,” obstacles in the street or in accessing establishments, but also in transport, he argues.
Regional train lines (RER) require reservations or to go to a ticket office to be accompanied by agents.
In the evening, “it’s much more complicated,” underlines Karim Mimouni, treasurer of the Regional Handisport Committee: “going for a drink” or even “working late” requires having your own vehicle or calling a converted taxi, the number of which increased from 200 to 1,000 with the Games.
The public on-demand transport service can be booked 48 hours in advance but is understaffed.
By the end of September, all establishments open to the public must be in compliance.
But in France, only 900,000 out of 2 million of these premises have started the process, according to the office of the resigning Minister Delegate for Disabled People, Fadila Khattabi. In Paris, there are nearly 40,000, according to the police headquarters.
The city has made 91% of its establishments accessible, inaugurating 17 “increased accessibility districts” at the beginning of July with specific routes to sports, health, cultural or educational facilities.
While he welcomes this work, Nicolas Mérille deplores the fact that “you only have to go out into your neighborhood to see that many places are not accessible.”