As disabled athletes and activists protested against the difficulties using public transport during a national conference on disabilities, French President Emmanuel Macron announced 1.5 billion euros to improve accessibility ahead of the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic games in Paris.
Just getting to the conference at the presidential Elysée Palace on Wednesday was an ordeal for many of those invited because of very limited accessibility on the Paris Metro and suburban trains, and a lack of wheelchair accessible busses outside the city (100 percent of Paris busses are equipped with ramps).
Disability rights groups point to a severe lack of accessibility, not just on transport, but also in hotels and other services that will be used by disabled spectators of the 2024 Games.
Only one of Paris' 14 Metro lines is fully accessible, and the RATP Metro authority has said that 32 of its 309 stations will be wheelchair-accessible by 2024 - a contrast with other Olympic hosts such as Tokyo, which made over 90 percent of its 758 subway and rail stations accessible in 2021.
Acknowledging failure
The Council of Europe, earlier this month found that France was in violation of a treaty on social and economic rights, citing multiple failings in meeting the needs of people with disabilities, notably access of children to mainstream schools, as healthcare.
At the conference, Macron conceded failures and acknowledged France’s slow progress, promising concrete action
“This world is not a parallel world,” he said. “I want this world to end being a world of silence, that people with disabilities be heard, be present and visible everywhere in our society.”
The 1.5 billion euros pledged would target small shops and restaurants, along with administrative offices and public transport used by France's 12 million people with disabilities as well as visitors.
Extra transport for Olympics
Details, and a timeline, are to be worked out before the summer, though Macron promised there would be extra transport for the Olympics, including five times more accessible taxis than are currently in the Paris region, to reach 1,000, and a special shuttle service to venues.
Olympic organisers have pledged an “an obstacle-free experience for all,” with all venues accessible and all volunteers to be trained in serving the needs of disabled visitors.
