“I take the train around fifty times a year since my accident. In general, everything goes well. But what happened on Monday is shameful.” This famous Monday, Axel Allétru is not about to forget it. This paraplegic athlete was fined while sitting in a reduced mobility seat (PRM) on board a TGV linking Lille to Paris. That day, he was not in a wheelchair but on crutches. And he was fined 149 euros. Although he easily admits that he did not have the correct ticket, the young man cannot stomach having been “belittled” by an SNCF control agent who was visibly disinclined to listen to his story. We offer it to you in an accelerated version.
Axel Allétru is a former BMX and motocross champion. Having won several titles in France and Europe, the young man saw his sporting career come to an abrupt end when he was the victim of a violent motorcycle accident during a race in Latvia in 2010. The 20-year-old then learned that he is quadriplegic and has lost the use of his legs. After years of rehabilitation, however, he managed to get back into adapted sports and even managed to walk with the help of crutches.
He couldn't go upstairs
It was precisely with his crutches that the 35-year-old young man took the train on Monday. “I am an incomplete paraplegic. Let's say that I spend 90% of my time in a wheelchair and 10% of my time on crutches. It allows me to move a little, to relieve my bedsores,” explains the young man, contacted by 20 Minutes.
Usually, Axel Allétru always travels in a PRM seat. A location located on the ground floor of the train and in first class. But to qualify, you must go through the SNCF system called Accès Plus and book at least 24 hours in advance. “And since I was sick the day before, I didn't know if I was going to be able to leave. I left in a hurry and I was not booked the same ticket as usual.” When he arrives at the train, he discovers that his seat is upstairs. Unable to climb the stairs, he resolves to sit in his usual place. “There was no one else,” assures the man who carried the flame ahead of the Paris Olympic Games this summer.
« The officer demanded that I go to my place otherwise he would fine me. But I couldn't. I tried to discuss, to explain my situation but it didn't change anything. If I had had my chair, this would never have happened.” »
-
Axel receives a fine of 149 euros. “It’s scandalous. I just wish this agent would put himself in my place, understand how much it hurt me. We're just coming out of the Paralympics and look where we are. It's traumatic. It reduces us to our handicap. » The young man assures that he had always traveled legally before this incident.
“We are not robots”
The SNCF is well aware of the mishap experienced by Axel Allétru and has contacted him. “We take the testimony very seriously and are sorry that his trip did not go as he would have liked,” recognizes the railway company, which says it is “sensitive” to this bad experience, while recalling its efforts to welcoming people with disabilities.
In its defense, the SNCF explains that the traveler had “not made a reservation for this seat” and that he was “not in the car originally reserved nor in the reserved class”. This is why he was fined. “I recognize all of that. But I couldn't get to my seat. What I was asking for was a little understanding, a simple exchange. We're not robots, we have hearts, right? “. To some it seems a little cold.
Related News :