Paris will charge for motorcycle parking, stirring protest from the biker community

John Laurenson Aug 29, 2022
Heard on:
HTML EMBED:
COPY
Opinion polls show Parisians like the city's efforts to reduce car driving, and many support the new fees for motorbikes. Christophe Archambault/AFP via Getty Images

Paris will charge for motorcycle parking, stirring protest from the biker community

John Laurenson Aug 29, 2022
Heard on:
Opinion polls show Parisians like the city's efforts to reduce car driving, and many support the new fees for motorbikes. Christophe Archambault/AFP via Getty Images
HTML EMBED:
COPY

Jean-Marc Belotti, president of the Paris section of the Angry Bikers group, poses with her motorcycle and helmet.
Isabelle Lebret, a biker in Paris who protested the new parking fees for motorcycles. (John Laurenson)

Starting in September, Parisian biker Isabelle Lebret and other motorcyclists will have to pay to park in the street. Three bucks for the first hour, nearly $40 for the day.

Like many cities around the world, Paris has made it a lot more expensive to park a car. But motorcycle, scooter and moped users have always been allowed to park for free. Not anymore.

“You find a space, park and pay, keying in your license plate number on a phone app. If you don’t, they send you a fine,” she said, speaking in French.

Lebret joined a recent demonstration against parking charges on motorized two-wheelers that was organized by a group called Angry Bikers. Its president, Jean-Marc Belotti, said motorcycles and cars should be treated differently.

“Look at the cars around us. One person in each. We take up so much less space — between a third and a quarter. We get people from A to B quicker and use less gas because we’re so light,” he said, speaking in French.

Jean-Marc Belotti, president of the Paris section of the "Motards en colère" group stands next to his motorcycle.
Jean-Marc Belotti, president of the Paris section of the “Motards en colère” (Angry Bikers) group, which organized a recent protest against street parking charges for motorcycles. (John Laurenson)

Paris’ municipality that’s introducing the measure did not respond to requests for a comment about the change. But Tony Renucci, head of the anti-air pollution group Respire (translated as Breathe), said he backs the new parking fees.

“It’s a good measure if its aim is to give more space for pedestrians and reduce air pollution because they want to make people less willing to use their motorbikes,” he said.

Opinion polls show Parisians like City Hall’s anti-car measures. Many like this new anti-motorbike measure too. Including Jean-Pascal Revenusso, whom I talked to while he waited for a bus.

“We share the roads, we share the parking space, so we should share the parking fees. It’s a form of equality,” he said, speaking in French.

Motorcycle use has risen sharply in Paris in recent years as people try to beat the traffic jams. Some may now switch to public transportation, as city officials would like. Others might just go back to their slower, but safer, cars.

There’s a lot happening in the world.  Through it all, Marketplace is here for you. 

You rely on Marketplace to break down the world’s events and tell you how it affects you in a fact-based, approachable way. We rely on your financial support to keep making that possible. 

Your donation today powers the independent journalism that you rely on. For just $5/month, you can help sustain Marketplace so we can keep reporting on the things that matter to you.