149 euros. This is the amount of the fine that Axel Allétru, a paraplegic, had to pay for sitting in a PRM seat on the train. According to the SNCF controller, he cannot access it without his wheelchair. Rant!
“A fine for being… ‘not disabled enough’? » On January 13, 2024, Axel Allétru boarded the SNCF train Lille Flandres-Paris. An incomplete paraplegic, the 34-year-old young man has exceptionally swapped his wheelchair for his crutches. While he logically sits in a PRM place (reserved for people with reduced mobility), he receives a fine of 149 euros because, according to the controller, without his chair, he cannot legitimately use this space. This sportsman, although accustomed to extreme adventures (Dakar Rally, Enduropale du Touquet…), did not expect such a rush of adrenaline…
“Disability is not limited to the wheelchair! »
“Losing 80% of my ability in my legs doesn’t disappear just because I’m standing or on crutches. On the contrary, without my chair, my legs have to compensate more, which requires a colossal effort on a daily basis,” reacts the indignant passenger on social networks. “This kind of situation shows how urgent it is to understand that disability is not limited to a wheelchair. It is not an object that causes the disability, but a physical and invisible reality that is sometimes poorly perceived. he insists.
80% of disabilities are invisible
Saying “tired of the unadapted system”, Axel Allétru shares this incident to “to challenge and change mentalities”. “Let’s stop reducing disability to clichés or absurd rules. Each journey is unique, each story deserves to be respected”, he concludes, hoping to move “the lines”. As a reminder, 80% of disabilities are invisible when “only” 3% require the use of a wheelchair.
Excesses of zeal that follow one another
The SNCF is not its first “coup de brilliance” in matters of disability. In 2017, a zealous controller requested the disability card of Philippe Croizon, a quadruple amputee adventurer (Croizon obliged to justify his disability on a train). The former president of the National Railway Company, Guillaume Pépy, finally called him to apologize. Will Axel Allétru be entitled to the same treatment from his successor, Jean-Pierre Farandou?
© Instagram Axel Allétru
“All rights of reproduction and representation reserved.© Handicap.fr. This article was written by Cassandre Rogeret, journalist Handicap.fr”
