Mastodawn

The new mayor of #Paris, Emmanuel Grégoire, celebrated his victory last night by riding to city hall on a Vélib' bikeshare bicycle.

He's promised 60,000 new social housing units 15 express bus routes, 1000 new pedestrian streets, completion of bike path network...

🧵

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𝚃𝚊𝚛𝚊𝚜 𝙶𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚌𝚘𝚎 🚇1d ago

In the rest of #France, Socialists won in #Marseille and #Lille. 🇫🇷

Great news that the far right was defeated in #Marseille, and that ecologist mayor Gregory Doucet takes #Lyon !

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/crk14m7mjddo

France's Socialists hold on to power in major cities in election boost for mainstream

Paris and Marseille are held by the Socialists in local elections which saw the nationalist right win in Nice and certain towns.

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Petra van Cronenburg 19h ago

@straphanger The bad news is that the far-right RN established too well in middle sized towns and also rural regions.
After the election reform, we have only 1 or 2 mixed lists in smaller municipalities, without assigning parties. RN members hide in such lists. And you can't delete candidates like in former times, you have to vote for or against the whole list. So they won more towns than at the last elections. The danger for democracy is still big.
https://www.franceinfo.fr/elections/quelles-sont-les-lecons-a-tirer-des-resultats-du-2d-tour-des-municipales-2026-a-un-an-de-l-election-presidentielle_7888268.html

Quelles sont les leçons à tirer des résultats du 2d tour des municipales 2026, à un an de l'élection président

Au lendemain du second tour des élections municipales, chaque camp politique tente d'analyser les résultats du scrutin, notamment au regard de la stratégie à mettre en place pour la présidentielle de 2027.

Franceinfo

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figue 15h ago

@straphanger A Roubaix la vraie Gauche

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Fardels Bear 1d ago

@straphanger

A worthy successor to Anne Hidalgo.

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Ross of Ottawa 21h ago

@riggbeck @straphanger I was so worried her legacy would be erased by some cars-first zealot.

She stands as an example of what progressive people around the world would love to have for their city.

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vxo 23h ago

@straphanger I like the cut of his jib....

Is helmet use while riding bicycles not common there? It always seems strange to me when it isn't. Luckily, I've never had any sort of crash where one has met the road, but I used to use mine as a battering ram while riding through overhanging vines and crap on roads in Florida. :D

Thing I learned the hard way: do not attempt this with bougainvillea. Damn if that didn't look like I'd just come out of an anime battle.

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Chtixof 🦊🚲🌻🐝23h ago

@vxo @straphanger
Hello. Here, the helmet is mandatory only before 12 YO, and recommended after. Agree that it's easier to identify Emmanuel Grégoire with no helmet 😄

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vxo 23h ago

@Chtixof @straphanger Yeah, point absolutely taken there. That borders on "recognizeable on tight TV shot only" territory.

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Christiaan Jacobs 21h ago

@vxo Dutchman here, not surprised at all at this image. In the Netherlands, you will see more helmets every year, but usage is mostly confined to “fast bikes” (racing bike, bikes with an electric motor), “dangerous biking” (offroad, ATB) and special groups (kids, elderly). Upright biking (like he is doing) in urban areas and on rented bikes is normally without a helmet. It leads to combinations like a parent (without) and kids (with) on the same bike @straphanger

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Christiaan Jacobs 21h ago

@vxo in fact, many people will argue that a mandatory helmet for all cyclists will make cycling less attractive. In that way, it may make cycling even more dangerous as car traffic will increase, leaving less space for cyclists.

The “Paris approach” had been to reserve more and more “road space” for cyclists. A dedicated place for cyclists keeps them out of the way of the dangerous car drivers (and makes car driving and parking (!) less attractive) @straphanger

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vxo 21h ago

@cejjacobs @straphanger ooooh very good point, a lot of the crashes that occur happen when cyclists get squeezed into dangerous spaces. I keep thinking of the bullet hell game that is cycling in a US suburb

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Auntie Mame 21h ago

@vxo @straphanger One isn’t usually carrying their own helmet when jumping on a rental bike.

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vxo 20h ago

@ymasumac @straphanger yeah--- that would be awkward if you're not starting your day's commute right at the bike rental station, like it's on your block or whatever

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DrYak 19h ago

@vxo @ymasumac @straphanger here in Basel, Switzerland: helmets are strongly recommended.
The local "floating" (station-less) bike rental - Pick-e-bike - provides helmets in back baskets of their bicycles.

People seem civilized enough that these are not stolen.

The helmets are "one-size-fit-all"s, so one might still need to bring their own in case of outlier head-size.

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