Besieged by electric scooters, Paris lays down the law

PARIS – Paris is cracking down on electric scooters after an anarchic year in which 12 startups flooded the city's streets with their vehicles.

The French capital has 12 free-floating scooter operators, more than the entire United States, according to a study released Thursday, and about 20,000 of the two-wheeled vehicles.

Mayor Anne Hidalgo says electric scooters have fallen into a legal gray zone.

After repeated complaints and a spate of injuries and near-misses, the mayor and police want to limit speeds to 20 kilometers per hour (12.5 miles), cap the numbers in Paris, and prohibit parking anywhere but designated spaces. Hidalgo also plans to limit the number of operators to two or three.

The city already imposes 135-euro ($150) fines for riding on the sidewalk and 35-euro fines for parking illegally.