On the penultimate day of the Paris Paralympic Games, the head of the region, Valérie Pécresse, signed a pact with the city of Paris and the APF-France Handicap association to engage in the ‘titanic’ project of making the Paris Metro system accessible to people with disabilities.

The Games had highlighted just how poorly Paris scores when it comes to accessibility, with its Metro system almost entirely barred to people in wheelchairs or those with reduced mobility.

Pécresse, who is also the head of Ile-de-France Mobilités, noted the importance of updating the Metro system in light of the city’s ageing population and for environmental reasons. Pécresse has also called for holding a local referendum to get Parisians on board.

During the Paralympics closing ceremony, the president of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), Andrew Parsons, referenced Pécresse’s announcement.

“We all have a collective responsibility to take advantage of the momentum of the Paralympic Games to make this world more inclusive (…) We must enable people with disabilities to excel off the playing field.

“The best Paralympic legacies are those that continue after the Games and I call on all those involved to make the dream of an accessible Paris Metro a dazzling reality,” he said.

Then he addressed Pécresse specifically, adding: “Thank you to the President of the Île-de-France region Valérie Pécresse for her ambition to make the Metro accessible.”

What are the specifics of the plan?

So far, things are quite vague. In fact even calling this a ‘plan’ might be going too far – what the leaders signed was more of a statement of ambition.

The earliest estimates suggest that such a project would require between €15-20 billion in funding over a period of 20 years, which Pécresse proposed would be shared equally between the city of Paris, the region of Ile-de-France and the State, Le Figaro reported.

Pécresse suggested to the French press that the work could begin with Metro Line 6, which would be easier to make accessible due to the fact that it is mostly above-ground. 

Nevertheless, work on this line alone would cost between €600 and €800 million.

The goal would be to finally make the Metro accessible for people with reduced mobility – although there are some Metro stations that will never be entirely accessible, due to historical constraints and ‘an already congested Paris underground’, MesInfos reported. 

In terms of how the project would be paid for, Paris deputy mayor, Lamia El Araje, who focuses on accessibility for people, said: “We have to go and find the revenue,” noting a possible increase in the tourist tax, which she argued has been done in other international capitals such as Berlin and New York.

In Paris, this tax currently ranges from €0.65 (per night per person) for the most basic campsites to €14.95 for the highest end hotels (palaces).

READ MORE: How much is the ‘tourist tax’ in France?

What is the Paris Metro situation currently?

As things stand, only 29 metro stations on just two lines (11 and 14) are accessible to people with reduced mobility.

The RER (commuter train) assures that lines A and B, as well as the tram and bus networks, are intended to be accessible.

READ MORE: ANALYSIS: How accessible is Paris for people with disabilities?

However, there are still some challenges on these services be too. A bus line is deemed accessible once 70 percent of its stops are classified that way, which means many stops are not available for people with reduced mobility. This may be due to technical issues, such as an inability to enlarge or raise the sidewalk.

Also, most buses only allow for a maximum of one wheelchair.

As for the city’s tram system – the challenge is that most trams only serve the city outskirts and suburbs, so they are not very useful for tourists or people needing to get into the city centre.

Although the RER, the commuter train that serves the city and its outer suburbs – including links into Paris from its two airports – might be more ‘accessible’ than the Metro, many stations require the assistance of a person working there.

This means that a person with a disability would need to plan or call ahead to ensure staff will be present to assist them.

In the future, the new Grand Paris Express lines (15, 16, 17 and 18) will be entirely accessible, which means that 68 accessible stations will be added to the Paris Metro network by 2030.