With less than two years to go before the event, the French authorities admit that the objective of accessibility in transport, announced during Paris’ bid for the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2024, is seriously behind schedule. “We have to be honest, we are behind on our accessibility objectives for transport and stations in particular,” explained the Minister of Transport, Clément Beaune, on the sidelines of the Paralympic Day organised on Saturday 8 October in the capital. “We’re not ahead at all, we have to work twice as hard. We have to speed up. The Olympic and Paralympic Games are an opportunity for this month’s Games to reinforce things and to show that we are also capable of having innovative solutions, because we cannot make everything accessible immediately.” Innovate, therefore, to compensate for a delay that today seems irremediable. But how? Clément Beaune mentioned a “taxi and shuttle service“, and the creation of a “mobility committee“, which is supposed to meet every six weeks to take stock of the transport issue. Last week, Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne announced the forthcoming appointment of an inter-ministerial delegate for accessibility.
