Paris (AFP)

If Parisians and companies in the Paris region have been severely tested by a month and a half of strike in transport, for some, the social movement against the pension reform in France was rather a boon.

"For us, taxis, it was good", underlines to AFP Jean-Robert Philippe, 55 years, independent driver, about the strike which started on December 5 and died down gently for a few days. Paris public transport has almost returned to normal.

In December, its daily pickups doubled compared to other years. Usually, the period is fairly calm, Parisians leaving the city for Christmas and New Year's Eve celebrations with the family.

However, this year, taxis were sometimes booked several days in advance, Parisians favoring this type of transport at stable prices rather than companies of vehicles with driver, type Uber or Kapten, whose prices jumped with demand. This did not prevent these services from operating at full capacity while the rental agencies showed a shortage of cars.

Result: the streets of the capital offered weeks during the show of battles for space between cars, rare buses, cycles, urban sliding of all kinds and pedestrians, in a cacophony of warning horns and vociferations.

- New urban mobility -

Especially since the traffic lanes were stormed by a tide of beginners on bicycles, scooters or scooters, some clumsy or reckless.

Lime, an electric scooter rental company, registered 8,000 new users on the first day of the strike and an average of 4,000 per day. The company recorded a 75% increase in its rentals in Paris over the period, with up to 120,000 users on days of events.

Cityscoot, an electric scooter rental company, even reports a 150% increase in its rentals in December compared to December 2018. New subscriptions increased by 400%.

- Bus and carpooling -

Car sharing facilitated by mobile applications has also been on the rise. Karos reports to AFP that it had 100,000 new subscribers in December, "eight to 10 times more than a traditional month", without a strike.

On long journeys, the buses tried to offset the train strike. Coach company Flixbus said it carried more than a million passengers in December, almost twice as much as a year earlier.

- Meals at home -

And, of course, residents of the Paris region have walked a lot to get to work when others have opted for telework.

Dining out, even simple shopping, could be affected, to the benefit of home meal delivery companies. Deliveroo's orders thus increased by 20% in December, and even 25% when counting the suburbs.

The situation also had benefits for some small suburban traders. Lofti Baushih, baker in Aulnay-sous-Bois, northeast of the capital, saw its sales triple on the first day of the strike, selling bread and pastries to Aulnaysians who stayed there for once - on leave or telecommuting. "We worked like crazy," he says with a cheerful smile.

Another sector experienced beneficial spinoffs as Parisians walked and pedaled: anti-pollution masks. French manufacturer R-Pur says it has recorded a 30% increase in sales.

Also on the health side, a start-up specialist in telemedicine, Medadom, says that the number of users of its application for online consultations has increased by 50% since the start of the strike, with a record of 320 consultations in one day.

"Many cases are linked to the strike, with patients often indicating that they have not found a doctor available or have been unable to travel," co-founder Nathaniel Bern told AFP.

© 2020 AFP