SCOOTERS, TWO-WHEELERS, CARS: THE NEW WAR OF THE BLACKTOP | TF1 | Reportages

Single-wheels, gyropodes, electric skateboards, etc. New gadgets are spawning in our cities. But there’s one that is turning everything upside down: the electric scooter. In less than a year it has invaded our streets. The French are crazy about them. More than a million people ride them. One of those hooked is Nadia, a Parisian mother. She uses her scooter to take her children to school. In Marseille, Olivier is very proud of his speedster, a scooter capable of… 50mph!  Others have bet millions on these new machines: like Maxim Romain, CEO of a company that rents out scooters on a self-serve basis. To make your mark in Paris or Lyon, you have to produce new, more sturdy models in China, absolutely essential for profitability. With electric scooters, a new profession has emerged: “juicing” – in other words, recharging scooters. Every night, Mounim collects as many as he can. But the competition is harsh. The massive and brutal onslaught from these new machines has created its first victims. Among them, Isabelle, a concert pianist, who’s destiny was shattered the day she was hit by an electric scooter. How are these new methods of transport disturbing our streets? Why can’t the authorities manage to impose some order? What is the secret life of these machines? An investigation into the underbelly of this new war of the blacktop.