Abandoned Cycling plan: heartbreaking for cyclists and the economy

The Cycling Plan, which was supposed to secure and develop cycling in France, is now threatened, leaving hundreds of projects frozen

Elisabeth Borne promised in 2023 a Cycling Plan of two billion euros until 2027. But the 2025 budget drastically revised these ambitions downwards. And the credits planned for 2024, frozen at the time of the dissolution of parliament, are still blocked. Only 100 million euros, insufficient to launch new projects, appear in the budget for next year.

Projects at a standstill and communities in difficulty

Because in 2023, when Elisabeth Borne presents the Cycling Plan, two-wheelers are on the rise. The plan is a start in responding to environmental, health and economic challenges. And the development of infrastructure as well as the encouragement of cycling is a concrete application of this response.

But the Barnier government's new budget threatens this dynamic. The end of purchasing aid, particularly for electric bikes or cargo bikes, will deter many users who were ready to change their mode of mobility. In addition, the bicycle industry in France employs no less than 50,000 people and this change risks eliminating quite a few jobs.

The dissolution of parliament also froze more than 400 cycling development projects. And without state aid, many municipalities could abandon these projects, worsening insecurity for cyclists.

A setback with multiple consequences

In addition to the impacts on the economy, the abandonment of the Cycling Plan raises the question of safety. The number of cyclists killed on the roads jumped by 20% between 2019 and 2023. A statistic which demonstrates the danger that cyclists say they feel on French roads. This is evidenced by the tragic event of the driver who crushed a young 27-year-old cyclist, Paul Varry, in the middle of Paris. The organizations are calling on the government to review its copy to avoid a complete disengagement of communities and meet European expectations in terms of soft mobility.

Budget debates continue in Parliament. It remains to be seen whether the executive will make a move to save this plan, which could transform mobility and the environment in France.

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