Having estimated the cycling sector could potentially create upwards of 100,000 jobs by 2050, French government minister Guillaume Gouffier-Cha has been tasked with exploring possibilities to “rebuild an economic sector of cycling”.

This comes after a December 2019 conversation with French Prime Minister Jean Castex, which resulted in a request to assess the impact of cycling on the economy, the environment, and a wider French society.

For historical context Guillaume Gouffier-Cha states, “At the end of the 1970s our country was one of the world leaders in the bicycle industry. Everything collapsed in the space of a few years to the detriment of an almost total dependence on Asian countries.”

Acknowledging that today, “this loss of know-how leads to a delay in access to cycling for French men and women, and to the deployment of a major environmental and health policy” the minister also points out that, “loss of know-how slows down an entire economic sector.”

“At a time when we are relaunching the industrialization of our country, the question of the development of the bicycle industry is essential.” observes Gouffier-Cha, whilst also highlighting that demand for bicycles, and the desire to ride as a form of transport, continues on an upward trajectory.

“Structuring the bicycle sector, studying the avenues that should allow us to revitalize this sector tomorrow is of course touching the subject of the reindustrialization of our country. From the encounters and trips I am making (which include attending he Vélocity European trade fair, and visiting current French cycling manufactures and retailers) at the moment, two convictions appear.”

“First of all, we will not recreate what existed in the past: we must absolutely target our business segments well and succeed in deploying on the mid-range or high-end technological markets. The revolutions of electric bikes, cargo bikes and connected objects (bicycles are becoming more and more popular) here represent real opportunities for our manufacturers.”

“On the other hand, we must develop bridges, partnerships between the different industrial and economic sectors – In concrete terms, players in the bicycle, automobile, aeronautics, electronics, boilermaking and French tech sectors must work together.”

The report (which can be viewed in full, in French, here) was submitted to Jean-Baptiste Djebbari, Minister of Transport, and Agnès Pannier-Runacher, Minister of Industry, on the 8th of February, and highlights:

• Today, of the 2.685 million bicycles sold in France, only 690,000 are assembled there.
• Between 2019 and 2021, the number of pedelecs sold increased from 400,000 to 700,000, with more than one million forecast be sold per year by 2025.
• Regarding cargo bikes, an estimated 300,000 will be sold by 2027, which means going from 11,000 cargo bikes sold per year to 60,000 units.
• The prospects for economic development remain conditional on the structuring of the sector, the creation of professional training, the development of cycling infrastructure.
• The report proposes the creation of a sector committee bringing together all the economic players in the bicycle industry and the updating of the 2018 bicycle plan from 2022.

In the eighteen months since we asked; “Can city planners turn Paris into the new Amsterdam?” pro-cycling mayor Anne Hidalgo has rapidly accelerated existing plans, making Paris the example of urban transport transformation.