PARIS – The French government plans to spend 2 billion euros ($2.2 billion) through 2027 to improve cycling infrastructure and help people buy bicycles in an effort to reduce car use.
The aim will be to double the cycle path network and the government will spend €250 million a year on new cycle paths from 2023 to 2027. The rest of the budget will go towards other measures to increase cycling.
“The state’s cycling effort is unprecedented and massive,” Transport Minister Clement Beaune said in a tweet.
The government wants to make bicycles an attractive alternative to cars and a means of transport accessible to all, from an early age and throughout their lives, Beaune told Le Parisien newspaper.
The goal will be to increase the country’s cycle path network from 50,000 km (30,000 miles) today to 80,000 km in 2027 and 100,000 km (62,000 miles) by 2030, with priority given to provincial towns and rural areas, as big cities have already received sizable state funding for cycling infrastructure, Beaune said.
Around 500 million euros will be allocated to subsidies for the purchase of bicycles, including for used bicycles.
The government will also increase spending on bicycle parking in railway stations and cities, increase spending on anti-theft bicycle tagging and provide cycling lessons to all primary school children.
Cycling organizations welcomed the initiative.
“This visionary initiative will not only transform the way our citizens move and live, but will also make France a global leader in promoting cycling infrastructure and culture,” said Olivier Schneider, president of the FUB cyclists’ union.
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