What are the main reasons Parisians want electric scooters to be banned according to the following article?
 
Parisians are voting on Sunday on whether to rid the streets of the French capital of electric scooters, although some say the city’s leaders ought to be focusing on more pressing issues.

Paris was a pioneer when it introduced e-scooters, or trottinettes, in 2018 as the city’s authorities sought to promote non-polluting forms of urban transport.

But as the two-wheeled vehicles grew in popularity, especially among young people, so did the number of accidents: in 2022, three people died and 459 were injured in e-scooter accidents in Paris.

In what is being billed as a “public consultation” voters are being asked: “For or against self-service scooters?”

Twenty-one polling stations have been set up across the city and will be open until 7pm local time, with the result expected at around 10pm.

Electric scooters available for rent on the Place du Trocadero, Paris.
E-scooters: a tale of two cities as London and Paris plot different paths
Read more
Although 1.6 million people are eligible to vote, turnout is expected to be low.

Paris’s socialist mayor, Anne Hidalgo, has promoted cycling and bike-sharing but supports a ban on e-scooters.

In an interview with Agence France-Presses last week, Hidalgo said “self-service scooters are the source of tension and worry” for Parisians and that a ban would “reduce nuisance” in public spaces. However, she promised to respect the outcome of the vote even if it is not legally binding.

Paris has almost 15,000 e-scooters across its streets, operated by companies including Lime, Dott and Tier.

Detractors argue that e-scooter users disrespect the rules of the road and regularly flout a ban on riding on pavements. The vehicles are also often haphazardly parked or thrown into the River Seine.

In June 2021, a 31-year-old Italian woman was killed after being hit by an e-scooter with two passengers onboard while walking along the Seine.

“Scooters have become my biggest enemy. I’m scared of them,” Suzon Lambert, a 50-year-old teacher from Paris, told AFP. “Paris has become a sort of anarchy. There’s no space any more for pedestrians.”

Another Parisian told BFMTV: “It’s dangerous, and people use them badly. I’m fed up.”

Julian Sezgin, aged 15, said he often saw groups of two or three teenagers on e-scooters zooming past cars on busy roads. “I avoid going on e-scooters and prefer e-bikes as, in my opinion, they are safer and more efficient,” he told the Guardian.


According to the Mayor of Paris, Parisians want to ban e-scooters because they are a source of tension and worry and banning them would reduce nuisance in public spaces. 
Detractors of e-scooters think that their users disrespect the rules of the road and park them haphazardly, causing anarchy in the streets and making the life of pedestrians difficult and dangerous.