On February 28, 2025, Marc Guillaume, the prefect of the Île-de-France region, along with Pierre Ory, the Seine-et-Marne prefect, and Brice Rabaste, the mayor of Chelles, visited the city to witness the successful deployment of new bike lanes. This visit highlighted the state’s ambitious bike-walking plan launched since 2018, which aims to encourage modal shift to cycling through substantial promotion of cycling practices and supportive infrastructure, including bike paths and parking spaces.
Since 2019, the state has invested over €100 million to develop cycling initiatives across the Île-de-France territory. The upcoming Olympic and Paralympic Games have acted as accelerators for this public policy, enabling significant structural improvements to be realized. This includes creating a 400 km cycling network, 120 km of which is now permanent, along with more than 3,200 secure parking spaces at major train stations.
Thanks to state support, 53 km of bike lanes have been established since 2020, with 32 projects successfully funded through active mobility fund calls for projects (FMA) within Seine-et-Marne, which is considered key for promoting cycling.
Alongside infrastructure, the state's "Savoir rouler à vélo" initiative has been instrumental, training 73,000 Île-de-France children to ride safely before even entering college. The goal is clear: tripling the modal share of cycling from 3% to 9%. This ambition is supported by the AVELO program, started in 2019, which assists less dense territories to implement cycling policies. Since the program's initiation, 61 Île-de-France municipalities have benefitted from state support.
The state’s contributions include direct grants for cycling projects and subsidies aimed at forming complete cycling routes. The past five years have seen the execution of six calls for projects under the Active Mobility Fund, which has supported 129 projects amounting to €81 million. Already, 40 of these projects are operational, and another thirty are nearing completion, with many others still underway for completion over the coming years.
Additional funding of €9 million has been allocated through the Green Fund, primarily focusing on the Greater Crown region, enhancing 12 cycling infrastructure projects and working alongside the Low Emission Zone initiatives. The state’s support plans include long-term growth for less populated and medium-density areas through the "Territoire Cyclables" program which will deliver two cycling framework schematics by 2029 with €12.7 million allocated.
Due to the upcoming Paris 2024 Olympic Games, the state has also been creating the Olympic cycling network (RCO), which constitutes 400 km of cycling pathways established to facilitate transportation for spectators between the competition sites. This ambitious network integrates existing routes, adding 120 km of new pathways alongside 30 km temporarily constructed for the Games.
To promote cycling as the transport mode of choice for the Olympics, more than 3,200 secure bicycle parking spots were financed at all major national train stations, representing €4.4 million of investment from the Île-de-France prefecture. These facilities are intended to support seamless transportation transitions between bikes and public transport systems heading to the broader Île-de-France regions.
Among the key legacies from these efforts is the establishment of secure parking specific to the cycling ecosystem, with investments made both for the event and for permanent use. A standout project is the construction of a dedicated, secure, permanent cycling parking lot with 1,000 spaces near the Stade de France, poised as the main legacy of this initiative.
Chelles serves as an emblematic example of the Plan Vélo, evidenced by the 910-m bi-directional cycling lane installed on Avenue Général de Gaulle, which became operational in September 2022 at the investment cost of €866,000, with 72% of the funding coming from the state. This bike lane connects the priority area of Grande Prairie and the ZAC de l'Aulnoy, facilitating access to educational and cultural facilities.
With 53 kilometers of new bike lines created since 2020, along with support for 32 Seine-et-Marne projects through active mobility fund calls, the drive for cycling is evident. The environment and Energy Management Agency (ADEME) has also played its part, aiding seven municipalities through the AVELO program and financing five cycling mission coordinators, aggregately amounting exceed €500,000 since 2019.
The coordinated effort by the state emphasizes its commitment to enhancing ecological landscapes and improving accessibility across regions. Beyond merely serving as transport, cycling is positioned as pivotal for fostering cleaner mobility methods, significantly contributing to the overall quality of life.
For more information on the Plan Vélo, visit here.