Good news. The French government will be making a further gesture towards the huge accessibility project in the run-up to the Paris 2024 Games. It concerns shops, hotels, cafés, restaurants and doctors’ surgeries. For those who apply before the beginning of November, the government will provide a grant of 20,000 euros to finance the work. Priority will be given to establishments in cities hosting Olympic events. These grants are part of the 1.5 billion euro fund announced last spring by Emmanuel Macron to improve the accessibility of public places in France. Olivia Grégoire, the French Minister for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises, explained: “The State will cover 50% of the cost of accessibility work, up to a maximum of 20,000 euros. As a rule, this work is fairly straightforward, and does not cost tens of thousands of euros. The main priority is to install accessibility ramps, for wheelchairs of course, but also for mothers with baby carriages. Accessibility ramps are a comfort tool for the elderly, but also for young parents“. According to his firm, 560,000 of the 900,000 establishments open to the public in France are not currently accessible.
