Member of the Month: France

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01 Aug, 2013

Source: Flickr.com by Cyril Plapied

France upholds a tradition for cycling that ranges from the Tour de France to classic Sunday morning runs to the bakery. This article will highlight some of the cycling projects and organizations that currently exist in France while displaying some of the more interesting statistics about cycling in France. Alors allons-y!

France in 5 numbers

1 in 20 French uses his bike everyday¹
3% of all transportation in France is done by bike ¹
4^th country in the world for bikes per capita⁴
5 bikes are sold per 100 habitants every year¹
10 million French ride their rides occasionally ¹

Velo-city 2015

Velo-city is the largest conference in the World for cycling-experts and the 2015 edition will be in France! Nantes will be hosting the 2015 Velo-city conference. It will be the second French city to host Velo-city since Paris in 2003. Nantes was chosen because of its recent commitments to improve cycling infrastructures in the city and its suburbs. One of the most notable aspects of Nantes as a city is its determination at being an innovative city in the sphere of urban mobility as it has adapted its traffic code to allow cyclists to navigate city traffic more effectively. The 2015 Velo-city promises to be a captivating event and full of good news.

Cycling Initiatives

Velib Bikes

France’s bike sharing programs have been a continuous success. La Rochelle has one oldest bike sharing system in the world with its “Yellow Bikes” which were put in circulation in 1974. The largest network is the “Vélib’” project in Paris. It is the 3^rd largest bike sharing system in the World and was launched in 2007. It is a large network with over 18,000 bikes and close to 1,200 stations spread across Paris. The service is used by over 100,000 cyclists per day. Rennes had one of the earliest bike sharing system in France. It has now evolved to “Velo Star” which has 83 stations and over a thousand users. Each of these systems have a subscription system which remains affordable and convenient for the users. There are 35 bike sharing systems in France as of now, they range from a network of around a 100 bikes up to 18,000.

A number of new initiatives have risen in France in the last years that strive to improve cyclists’ rights and their security. The “Bicycode” allows cyclist to place a tag on their bicycle with a carved number. The number is stored in a database which facilitates the possibility of recovering a stolen bike. This program, led by the FUB, encourages the use of the bicycle and dissuades bicycle thefts.

Member Organisations

Alps Photo by: Stefan Bakker

ECF has three key French members. The FUB (Federation des Usagers de la Bicyclette) has nearly 27 thousand individual members and focuses on cyclists’ rights. It also advocates for improved infrastructures and cyclists’ safety while promoting cycling as a sustainable and efficient mean of transportation. As a federation it has a network of local groups which work independently and help develop new projects in their region. Then comes the AF3V (Association Française des Véloroutes et Voies Vertes) which promotes the creation of cycle routes and greenways. They work with a network of regional organizations and work to create routes for cyclists to travel effectively across France. The DRC (Départments et Régions Cyclables) is the third French member. It is an associate member and strives to inform and promote recent cycling development in France. It also works to promote a new “cycling culture” and strengthen cycling’s place as a premier mode of transport in France.

Eurovelo routes in France

Thanks to the Eurovelo routes, it is easy to cycle across France and discover its wide range of landscapes!

Eurovelo Map
Click to enlarge

France has a large network of cycling routes, notably Eurovelo routes. Seven Eurovelo routes go through France which allows cyclists to see a wide variety of French landscapes. Eurovelo 1 also called Velodyssée borders the Atlantic Ocean which allows cyclists to visit cities like Bordeaux and La Rochelle. Eurovelo 3 has over 1500km of route in France from the Pyrenees to Belgium. Eurovelo 3 is named the Pilgrim Route as it follows the usual route of the Camino de Santiago. Eurovelo 4 continues the Eurovelo 1 route on the Atlantic Ocean and goes through Brittany up to Belgium. Eurovelo 5 is in the East of France, near Switzerland. On other hand, Eurovelo 6 goes through the Loire Valley where one can visit old French castles like Chambord or Amboise. Eurovelo 8 follows the Mediterranean Coast from Perpignan to Italy while going through Nice and Cannes. Finally, there is Eurovelo 15 which starts from the Rhine’s beginnings and follows it to the North Sea going through Strasbourg and Vauban fortifications. Once you’ve completed all these you will have probably seen more of France than the average French person!

Policy Developments

In recent news, the French high speed trains, the TGVs, will undergo some changes in order to accommodate cyclists some space to store their bikes. The SNCF will open up trains to bike with a reasonable cost. This move should promote cycling tourism and incite more cyclists to travel with their bikes. Furthermore, the French government has green lighted in June 2013 a committee, which includes the FUB, to work on a new mobility plan that would include an emphasis on cycling. This plan aims to provide incentives to cycle to work while strengthening cyclists’ rights. France would greatly benefit from such a plan due to its sustainable nature while following in the footsteps of other European countries like Germany. These new stories demonstrate that cycling advocacy has been growing in France and change is on the way.

More Statistics

Each French rides 87km per year on average¹
More bikes are sold yearly than cars ¹
Cyclo-tourism in France is worth 5,6 million euros per day or the most out of all types of tourism ²
Over 10.000 km of cycle friendly roads in French ³
There has been a 200% increase in cyclists in Paris from 1991 to 2001²