With more and more cycle paths in cities and sales soaring, cycling has become a real phenomenon in France. In 2019, sales of electric bikes in France were ...

In France, the bicycle is making its revolution

Rue de Rivoli, in Paris, is now dedicated to cyclists.

Christophe ARCHAMBAULT / AFP

Text by: Farid Achache Follow

7 min

With more and more cycle paths in cities and sales soaring, cycling has become a real phenomenon in France.

In 2019, sales of electric bikes in France broke a new record with 388,100 units.

One million could be reached by 2025.

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Is green mobility underway in part of the territory?

The phenomenon, which began a long time ago in the streets of Strasbourg, Alsace, is now spreading in all major French cities, including the capital Paris.

For example, due to the Covid-19 epidemic, the Paris city hall has transformed 50 km of axes usually reserved for cars into cycle paths, including the symbolic and very busy rue de Rivoli, which runs along the Louvre museum.

They will be perpetuated,

" said the mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo.

The Ministry of Transport has identified more than 500 km of "

coronapistes

" created during the Covid-19 crisis, which it intends to promote the final transformation into cycle paths.

The use of cycle paths across the country has increased by 29% since the end of confinement compared to the same period in 2019. The association Vélo & Territoires reports a spectacular increase of 67% over one year for Paris, + 26% for Lille and + 24% for Lyon.

About 60% of car journeys in the Paris region are less than four kilometers.

New jobs at stake

Cycling is now trendy in France and its economic sector continues to grow.

The French government has introduced aid, extended until the end of 2020, for the repair of bicycles, consisting of a flat rate of 50 euros.

This system has been very successful with 620,000 bicycles repaired.

“

There is a boom in cycling, it is undeniable.
2019 was already a very good year in terms of sales and there is now an accelerator that is not running out of steam, including in the workshops of our stores.
The 50 euros contributed to this enthusiasm

”, confides Romain Gardelle, in charge of developing the cycle department for the Intersport brand.

Intersport, with its Nakamura bicycle brand, has become the leading manufacturer in France.

The brand is aimed above all at customers who primarily need mobility, but also recreational cycling.

Without forgetting the sporting clientele.

Which generates jobs in the key.

“

There is a need for recruitment and we are helping to train young people for sales and mechanics.
We also have in-house courses for training in the maintenance of electric bikes,

”confirms Romain Gardelle.

Qualified jobs dedicated to green mobility should emerge over the next few years.

Cyclists in front of the Louvre museum in Paris.

Christophe ARCHAMBAULT / AFP

A now plethora of offer

The economic recovery plan presented by the French government at the beginning of September includes 200 million euros for cycling.

The State has also decided to double “

for modest households

” the premiums granted by communities for the purchase of an electric bicycle, up to 200 euros.

But it is mainly the middle classes who participated in the boom in the electric bicycle market, the average price of which reached 1,800 euros.

People have understood that you can use a bicycle in a big city

", rejoice Nicolas and Martin, creators of the Cavale brand, which offers a fairly high-end electric bicycle, 80% made in France.

If Nicolas and Martin had widely observed the phenomenon in the Netherlands, they were counting on the same thing in France.

“

The Netherlands have always been ahead of us

,” they say.

It was a challenge to create our brand.
Our generation is in search of meaning.
We didn't want a bike that had been around the world on an ocean liner.
We want to know our suppliers, to offer more than a bicycle, a beautiful object.
We favor direct sales.
We offer to receive our customers by appointment to find out their needs.
It's a very personalized approach.

Now, they dream of opening "

a beautiful boutique

" in Paris with a repair shop.

2.33 billion euros, the cycle market turnover in France

In 2019, e-bike sales broke a new record with 388,100 units.

The turnover of the cycle market (bicycles and accessories) jumped 10.1% over one year and now stands at 2.33 billion euros.

This result is largely driven by the electric bicycle, which continues to grow in double digits.

While electric bikes currently only represent 15% of volume sales, Union Sport & Cycle estimates that the one million electric bikes sold per year mark could be exceeded by 2024-2025.

In 2019, sales of electric bikes broke a new record in France with 388,100 units.

Photo: Cannondale

“

Cycling is more than a trend, it's a way of life.
It is a noble sport.
We are pushing for its use,

”enthuses Guillaume Koch, marketing director for France, Benelux and Switzerland for the American brand Cannondale, which will celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2021. Brand specialized primarily in road and competition bikes. Mountain biking, Cannondale has taken a new turn and now ensures the production of urban bikes with prices starting around 700 euros, up to high-end electric bikes sold for nearly 6,000 euros.

Online sales are also exploding

“

The phenomenon is not new.
For example, the electric mountain bike boom started for us in 2014

”, explains Guillaume Koch, whose brand is currently present on the Tour de France through the American team Education First Pro Cycling and its Colombian leader Rigoberto Urán.

It also sponsors mountain bikers like the Frenchman Maxime Marotte or the Brazilian Henrique Avancini.

“

It gives us visibility, notoriety and serves as a laboratory.
All the big bicycle manufacturers have teams,

”says Guillaume Koch.

But it is the general public that is primarily targeted with this new fairly juicy market which is gaining all of Europe.

And to boost its sales, Cannondale now offers online sales, without slashing prices, to keep the prestige of the brand.

“

Online shopping has become more popular.
We have set up an assembly option with independent mechanics

, ”explains Guillaume Koch, who readily concedes that millennials, or Generation Y, which brings together all of the people born between the early 1980s and the late 1990s , are one of the brand's new targets.

In the future, Guillaume Koch wants to believe that after the boom in electric mountain biking, the competition-type electric road bike will make its appearance for long weekend rides.

In France, the bicycle is making its revolution

In France, the bicycle is making its revolution

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