Paris police have introduced mandatory safety equipment for electric scooter riders, requiring helmets and high-visibility vests on public roads as authorities work to reduce a sharp rise in accidents involving the devices. The new rule, which took effect on Friday, 7 August 2026, applies only to privately owned e-scooters, since rental versions were banned in the French capital in 2023.
According to Le Monde, the order covers Paris itself as well as the surrounding inner-suburb departments, and it applies not just to e-scooters but also to other motorised personal transport devices including Segways and hoverboards. A separate report from Boursorama specifies that the requirement extends across the wider Paris agglomeration, taking in the departments of Hauts-de-Seine, Seine-Saint-Denis and Val-de-Marne.
Why did police introduce the rule?
Police cited what they described as a worrying increase in serious and fatal collisions involving motorised personal transport devices in the city. Figures from France's road safety watchdog, released by police on Saturday, showed that 79 people died in e-scooter accidents last year, up sharply from 45 deaths the year before. Official statistics also recorded around 1,100 injuries linked to e-scooter accidents in Paris last year, a rise of 33% compared with the previous year.
What are the penalties for non-compliance?
Riders who fail to wear an approved helmet face a fine of €135 (£129), while those without a high-visibility vest or reflective gear face a smaller penalty of €35 (£30). According to Tagesschau, these fines apply at all times when riding on public roads, not just during certain hours or conditions. Reporting from CleanRider adds that the rule applies across the entire public road network in the affected area, including cycle paths, and that it covers users of e-scooters, e-unicycles, monowheels, gyropodes and hoverboards.
What rules were already in place?
Paris had already banned e-scooter use for children under 14, prohibited carrying passengers, and imposed a maximum speed limit of 25km/h (16mph). Existing French transport regulations also required e-scooters to be fitted with front and rear lights, a horn and a reflective system, according to the city of Paris, while national guidance from the French government's public service portal confirms the minimum age and speed restrictions. A 2019 regulatory overhaul in France additionally banned riding on pavements except in designated areas and introduced penalties for other traffic violations.
Helmets and high-visibility vests were already compulsory in several other French regions, including Seine-et-Marne, Alpes-Maritimes and Vaucluse, before Paris adopted the requirement.
Why were rental e-scooters banned in the first place?
Paris was among the earliest cities to embrace e-scooters, but mounting concern over reckless riding and scooters cluttering pavements eventually turned public opinion against the rental schemes. The decision to ban them was put to a city-wide referendum, in which 90% of voters supported outlawing rental e-scooters, although turnout was low at just 8% of eligible voters. Despite the rental ban, e-scooters have remained a popular way to get around the city, particularly for commuters navigating Paris's narrow, often congested streets.
France has the highest rate of private e-scooter ownership in Europe, according to figures from the European Union. As of 2023, roughly 2.5 million people in France owned an e-scooter, with hundreds of thousands more sold since then. Precise figures for ownership within Paris itself are not maintained, though a significant share of the national total is believed to be concentrated in the capital.
How does this compare with other cities?
Paris is not alone in tightening restrictions on e-scooters. Madrid banned rental e-scooters in 2024, and Brussels has announced plans to introduce a similar ban in June. These moves reflect a broader pattern across European cities of reassessing how shared micromobility schemes are regulated as usage and accident rates have grown.
The debate over e-scooter regulation is not confined to continental Europe. In the United Kingdom, officials have yet to reach a long-term decision on legalising and regulating the devices, even as they have become part of daily commuting in cities such as Southampton. Complicating matters, some UK retailers have reportedly advertised e-scooters for road use despite legal restrictions that currently limit such use to rented scooters only.
What happens next?
The prefecture's order is already in effect, meaning enforcement of the new fines is now the immediate priority rather than any further vote or hearing, according to Boursorama. Authorities will be watching whether the new equipment requirements help reverse the recent rise in serious and fatal accidents involving e-scooters and similar devices.
Key Facts
- Helmets and high-visibility vests became mandatory for private e-scooter riders in Paris and its inner suburbs on 7 August 2026.
- Fines are €135 for no helmet and €35 for missing a high-visibility vest or reflective gear.
- Deaths from e-scooter accidents in Paris rose from 45 to 79 in a year; injuries rose 33% to around 1,100.
- The rule also covers e-unicycles, monowheels, gyropodes and hoverboards, and applies across the entire road network including cycle paths.
- Paris banned rental e-scooters in 2023 after a referendum in which 90% voted in favour, on an 8% turnout.
