Nearly 3 million French folks can use city public transport with out spending a fortune. No doubt there shall be much more of them following the municipal elections of March 15 and 22, as there have been so many proposals to make city transport free, not less than partly. For the youngest in Aix-Marseille (Martine Vassal, varied proper) or in Toulouse (François Briançon, Socialist Party, PS), for everybody in Brest (Cécile Beaudouin, La France insoumise), for these over 60 in Nice (Christian Estrosi, Horizons), for these with incomes lower than 2,500 euros in Lyon (Jean-Michel Aulas, heart and proper) or throughout the weekend in Saint-Etienne (Régis Juanico, PS). Etc.
Hearing these candidates within the marketing campaign gives the look that deciding to make public transport free is a revolution, a shift from one mannequin to a different, whatever the public involved. It is the truth is the fruits of an extended course of throughout which the share paid by the consumer of city transport was lowered to its naked minimal. According to the Court of Auditors, which revealed a report on this topic, in September 2025, the ratio between income from ticket gross sales and working bills, famous “R/D”, was 71% in 1977 and was solely 33.1% in 2019 – if we exclude Ile-de-France, the place it’s 45.3%. “The wall that is still to be overcome [pour passer à la gratuité totale] is not very excessive »summarizes Arnaud Passalacqua, professor of city planning and co-chair of the scientific committee of the Observatory of Free Transport Cities.
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https://www.lemonde.fr/economie/article/2026/03/08/municipales-2026-l-inexorable-marche-vers-la-gratuite-des-transports_6669986_3234.html