Parisians vote to ban rental e-scooters from French capital by huge margin

Level 1: Elementary

1
  Warmer

a. Discuss these questions.

1. Do you like riding e-bikes or e-scooters?

2. Where do you ride? Is it safe there?

3. Where can you rent bikes or e-scooters in your town or city?

2
  Key words

a. Write the correct words from the wordpool next to the definitions below. Then find and
highlight them in the article to read them in context.

accident against agree capital happen

including popular rent station worry

1. pay money to use something that belongs to someone else, such as a flat, bicycle, or car

2. the city where a country or region has its government

3. someone or something that many people like

4. a crash involving a car, train, aeroplane, or other vehicle

5. a building or place where a service or activity happens

6. not agreeing with someone or something

7. think the same thing as someone else

8. feel nervous and upset because you keep thinking about a problem

9. say that someone or something is part of a group

10. take place, usually without being planned

D •
TE E E
SI AD L
EB LO B
W N IA

Published by Macmillan Education Ltd. © Macmillan Education Limited, 2023.

M W P
O DO O
FR BE OC

Home >> Adults >> General English >> NEWS LESSONS

T
O
H
AN
•P
C
 Parisians vote to ban rental e-scooters from French capital by huge margin
Level 1: Elementary
b. Use some of the key words from task A to complete these sentences. You may have to change
the form of the word.

1. Mums always when their children are out late at night.

2. There was an this morning. A car hit a cyclist!

3. I don’t understand why that TV program is so . I don’t think

it’s funny.

4. How many cities around the world can you name?

5. The police is on the corner.

6. There are so many people over there. What’s ?

D •
TE E E
SI AD L
EB LO B
W N IA

Published by Macmillan Education Ltd. © Macmillan Education Limited, 2023.

M W P
O DO O
FR BE OC

Home >> Adults >> General English >> NEWS LESSONS

T
O
H
AN
•P
C
 Parisians vote to ban rental e-scooters from French capital by huge margin
Level 1: Elementary
Angela Giuffrida and agencies 13 The French Transport Minister, Clement
02 April, 2023 Beaune, said that he thinks the ban will
happen. He also thinks many other towns in
1 Parisians don’t want rented electric scooters France and other countries will be interested in
on the streets of the French capital. Ninety per what happens in Paris. He said that e-scooters
cent of voters said ‘yes’ to the ban. are an excellent transport choice because they
don’t use petrol.
2 Paris was one of the first cities to have
e-scooters. In 2018, the city wanted 14 E-scooter companies think a ban may make
non-polluting types of city transport available. other cities do the same. Hadi Karam, the
manager for France at Lime, said that Paris
3 But as they became popular, especially among needs to do what is popular. He said that in
young people, e-scooter accidents increased. Washington, Madrid, and London, the number
In 2022, three people died, and 459 were hurt of e-scooters is increasing.
in Paris.
© Guardian News and Media 2023
4 There were twenty-one voting stations open First published in The Guardian, 02/04/2023
until 7 pm local time. 1.6 million people can
vote on the ban.
5 85.77% and 91.77% of the votes were against
e-scooters for rent. The vote did not become
law immediately, but the city agreed to do what
the people wanted.
6 Paris’s Mayor, Anne Hidalgo, likes cycling and
bike-sharing but also wants to end e-scooters
for rent. She said that these scooters worry
Parisians a lot.
7 Paris has almost 15,000 e-scooters from
companies including Lime, Dott, and Tier.
People against e-scooters say that riders don’t
follow the road rules and ride on pavements.
E-scooters are often parked badly or even
thrown into the River Seine.
8 In June 2021, a 31-year-old Italian woman was
walking along the Seine when she was hit by
an e-scooter and killed.
9 “I’m scared of e-scooters,” said Suzon Lambert,
a 50-year-old teacher from Paris.
10 Another Parisian said, “It’s dangerous, and
people use them badly.”
11 Linda Joèlle, 35, feels the opposite. “Now that
I have found an excellent way to get to work,
and one that is better for the environment, they
are trying to ban it,” she said.
12 One student said, “Where I live, it’s better than
going on foot.”
D •
TE E E
SI AD L
EB LO B
W N IA

Published by Macmillan Education Ltd. © Macmillan Education Limited, 2023.

M W P
O DO O
FR BE OC

Home >> Adults >> General English >> NEWS LESSONS

T
O
H
AN
•P
C
 Parisians vote to ban rental e-scooters from French capital by huge margin
Level 1: Elementary

3
  Comprehension check

a. Answer the questions using information from the article.

1. How many voters want the e-scooter ban?

2. When did Paris first get e-scooters?

3. Why are they a problem?

4. How many people were hurt by e-scooters in 2022?

5. How many voting stations were there?

6. How many people could vote?

7. Who is the Mayor of Paris?

8. How many e-scooters are there in Paris?

9. Why do people dislike e-scooters?

10. Does Clement Beaune, the Transport Minister, think there will be an e-scooter ban?

4
  Key language

a. Add the suffix -er to the verbs to make words from the article.

1. scoot

2. vote

3. ride

4. teach

5. manage

b. Complete each sentence with the words from task A.

1. There’s a problem with my order. Can I please speak to the ?

2. My favourite was Mr Taylor, Year 5.

3. Two million came to today’s election.

4. Where can I park my ?

5. Bike in the street need to be careful.

c. Choose two of the words above and write personalised sentences using them.
D •
TE E E
SI AD L
EB LO B
W N IA

Published by Macmillan Education Ltd. © Macmillan Education Limited, 2023.

M W P
O DO O
FR BE OC

Home >> Adults >> General English >> NEWS LESSONS

T
O
H
AN
•P
C
 Parisians vote to ban rental e-scooters from French capital by huge margin
Level 1: Elementary

5
  Discussion

a. Discuss these statements.

• “It is helpful to have e-scooters for rent.”

• “There should not be bans on city transport.”

• “It is important to vote.”

6
  In your own words

a. Use an internet search engine to find more information about e-scooters for rent worldwide.

• Which cities have them?

• Which don’t?

• How much does a ride cost?

• How popular are they?

• Do you want to try one?

b. Report your findings to the class.

D •
TE E E
SI AD L
EB LO B
W N IA

Published by Macmillan Education Ltd. © Macmillan Education Limited, 2023.

M W P
O DO O
FR BE OC

Home >> Adults >> General English >> NEWS LESSONS

T
O
H
AN
•P
C
 Parisians vote to ban rental e-scooters from French capital by huge margin
Level 1: Elementary – Teacher’s notes
3. Comprehension check
Article summary: The article describes a
recent referendum in Paris to ban e-scooters a. The answers given are only suggested answers,
due to increased accidents. and students may correctly answer the questions in
different ways, e.g., in item 1, they may say, ‘90%
Time: 60 minutes said yes to the ban’ or similar.

Skills: Reading, Speaking, Writing Key:

1. 90%
Language focus: Suffix -er 2. 2018
3. There are lots of accidents, and there is unsafe
Materials needed: One copy of the behaviour.
worksheet per student
4. 459
5. 21
6. 1.6 million
1. Warmer 7. Anne Hidalgo
8. almost 15,000
a. This activity aims to get students to think about their 9. Riders don’t follow the rules, ride on the
opinions on e-bikes and e-scooters. Encourage pavement, park badly, and throw e-scooters into
students to share personal examples and support the Seine.
their opinions with reasons. 10. Yes, he does.

2. Key words 4. Key language

a. Ask students to do the exercise individually and a. Students could be asked to do this exercise
compare their answers in pairs or small groups. individually, and then compare their answers in pairs.
The suffix -er can describe someone or something
Key: doing a specific action. The words in the activity are
1. rent 6. against used in the article. As an extension activity, you could
2. capital 7. agree ask students to return to the text and find them.
3. popular 8. worry
4. accident 9. including Key:
5. station 10. happen 1. scooter
2. voter
b. Before reading the article carefully, students use key 3. rider
words to fill in the gaps to ensure they understand 4. teacher
and know how the words are used in other contexts. 5. manager

Key: b. Students could be asked to do this exercise

1. worry 4. capital individually and then compare their answers in pairs.
2. accident 5. station
3. popular 6. happening Key:
1. manager
Teacher’s note: Before students read the article, make 2. teacher
sure they understand that a ban is something you cannot 3. voters
do, buy, or say because it is against the law. To vote 4. scooter
is to choose for (or against) a person or on an issue in 5. riders
an election.
D •
TE E E
SI AD L
EB LO B
W N IA

Published by Macmillan Education Ltd. © Macmillan Education Limited, 2023.

M W P
O DO O
FR BE OC

Home >> Adults >> General English >> NEWS LESSONS

T
O
H
AN
•P
C
 Parisians vote to ban rental e-scooters from French capital by huge margin
Level 1: Elementary – Teacher’s notes

c. Allow the class to personalise some of the words

they have just covered. Monitor and assist
students as you walk around the class. Allow time
for feedback, so students can share some of the
sentences they have written.

5. Discussion

a. Students discuss the statements related to the

article and give their reasons and justifications for
each answer, referring to their own experiences
wherever possible.

6. In your own words

a. Students use an internet search engine to find more

information about self-service e-scooters in different
cities worldwide. Have them answer these questions:

• Which cities have them?

• Which don’t?
• How much does a ride cost?
• How popular are they?
• Would you like to try one?

Encourage students to give reasons and cite

personal examples.

b. Students then present their reports to the class.

Encourage students to share the information
they’ve gathered.
D •
TE E E
SI AD L
EB LO B
W N IA

Published by Macmillan Education Ltd. © Macmillan Education Limited, 2023.

M W P
O DO O
FR BE OC

Home >> Adults >> General English >> NEWS LESSONS

T
O
H
AN
•P
C