Paris has rolled out stringent new safety mandates for riders of privately owned electric scooters and similar micro-mobility devices, launching a targeted crackdown on violations after a worrying spike in deadly and serious accidents across the French capital. Local law enforcement announced the new regulations over the weekend, alongside grim data from France’s national road safety authority that underscores the urgency of the policy shift.
Last year alone, 79 people lost their lives in e-scooter-related accidents across France, marking a dramatic 75% jump from the 45 fatalities recorded just 12 months earlier. In Paris specifically, 1,100 people sustained injuries in e-scooter crashes in 2025 – a 33% year-over-year increase that has pushed city officials to strengthen safety standards.
Under the new rules, all riders of private e-scooters, electric unicycles, and hoverboards on public roads are now required to wear an approved safety helmet and a high-visibility vest or attach retro-reflective markers to their vehicles. Violators face steep penalties: riders caught without a compliant helmet will be issued a €135 (£129) fine, while those missing high-visibility gear will receive a €35 (£30) fine.
The updated regulations build on existing safety restrictions already in place across Paris, which prohibit riders under the age of 14 from operating e-scooters, ban carrying extra passengers, and cap maximum speed at 25km/h (16mph). The policy also follows a 2023 city-wide ban on rental e-scooters, a move approved by 90% of voters in a public referendum – even though just 8% of eligible voters participated in the ballot.
Despite the elimination of rental services, private e-scooters remain a widely popular commuting option in Paris, where narrow, frequently congested city streets make compact micro-mobility an attractive alternative to cars or public transit. European Union data shows France has the highest rate of private e-scooter ownership in Europe, with roughly 2.5 million units owned by French residents as of 2023, and hundreds of thousands more sold in the time since. A large share of these private scooters are registered and used in Paris, though the city does not track exact ownership numbers.
The push for mandatory helmet and high-visibility gear is not unique to Paris: several other French regions, including Seine-et-Marne, Alpes-Maritimes, and Vaucluse, already enforce similar requirements. Paris’ policy shift also aligns with a growing trend across major European cities: Madrid implemented a full ban on rental e-scooters in 2024, and Brussels has announced it will introduce its own rental ban this coming June.