Photo: Vlad B | Unsplash
Four years after electric scooters first appeared in France, they are here to stay. In 2021, 900,000 were sold in France, up 42% from 2020, with an estimated 2.5 million regular scooter users. France is now "the leading European market, ahead of Germany, Spain and Italy," said Rudy Godoy, sales director for a Chinese manufacturer. Germany authorized scooters from June 2019, as long as they were registered and used only for self-service. By the time France followed suit a few months later, scooters had already been in circulation for two years. In the Netherlands, they are still banned. Apart from sales figures, there are no studies to assess the sector's total economic size and no one has a clear idea of how many direct jobs it creates. While the pro-bike movement is trying to relocate the industry to France, the vast majority of scooter production is imported from China. In the meantime, users are facing new challenges as some shopping malls and businesses no longer allow them inside.
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