Is Paris really a benchmark for cycling?

Is Paris really a benchmark for cycling?

At the end of last year I joined MPs, peers and cycling leaders on an All Party Parliamentary Group for Cycling and Walking day trip to Paris. I wasn’t there as a lobbyist, or as London National Park City, but as the videographer and photographer, capturing a two dozen strong group whizzing through Parisian streets on Lime bikes.

We boarded the 7am Eurostar from St Pancras with one question:
Is cycling in Paris really that good, and how did they pull it off?

Spoiler, yes. It’s good. And it happened because Paris chose political will over perfection, moved fast, learned in public, and rebalanced street space away from cars. But it’s not flawless, junctions and signals still feel like the stress-test.

In this film you’ll hear quick interviews and takeaways from MPs, peers and active travel leaders, what impressed them, what still felt sketchy, and what London could steal tomorrow.

Featuring interviews with:
- Mike Kane MP, MP for Wythenshawe and Sale East
- Fabian Hamilton MP, Chair, APPG Cycling and Walking
- Brian Mathew MP, MP for Melksham and Devizes
- Olly Glover MP, Vice Chair, APPG Cycling and Walking
- Ruth Cadbury MP, Chair, Transport Select Committee, MP for Brentford and Isleworth
- Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb, House of Lords
- Alice Pleasant, Senior Public Affairs Manager, Lime
- Xavier Bryce, CEO, Walk Wheel Cycle Trust (formerly Sustrans)
- Simon O’Brien, Liverpool City Region Cycling and Walking Commissioner
- Emily Cherry, Chief Executive, Bikeability Trust
- Trudy Harrison, Senior Advisor, Fusion, Chair of Trustees, Bikeability Trust
- Natalie Lindsay, Trustee, London Cycling Campaign
- Ed Clancy, Active Lives Commissioner, South Yorkshire, Managing Director, British Cycling Foundation
- Duncan Dollimore, Head of Campaigns, Cycling UK

Key London lessons, in one breath:
- Build connected networks, not isolated fragments
- Fix junctions and signals first, that’s where confidence collapses
- Reallocate road space boldly, then maintain and enforce it
- Do something usable now, improve it fast, do not wait for perfect

If you found this useful, please like, subscribe, and share it with someone who cares about how London moves.

Filmed in Paris on Lime bikes, with thanks to the hosts and everyone who shared their time and thoughts.

Links to organisations mentioned:
APPG Cycling and Walking - https://appgcw.org/
Lime - https://www.li.me/
Walk Wheel Cycle Trust (formerly Sustrans) - https://www.walkwheelcycletrust.org.uk/
Bikeability Trust - https://www.bikeability.org.uk/
London Cycling Campaign - https://lcc.org.uk/
Cycling UK - https://www.cyclinguk.org/
British Cycling Foundation - https://www.britishcycling.org.uk/foundation
Fusion - https://www.fusion-media.co.uk/
Liverpool City Region Combined Authority, active travel - https://www.liverpoolcityregion-ca.gov.uk/
Savoir rouler a velo (France) - https://www.sports.gouv.fr/savoir-rouler-velo-609

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