French MP wants disabled parking access for pregnant women

A new bill that aims to allow women in the final three months of pregnancy to use disabled parking spaces has been submitted to the French parliament.

The projet de loi, submitted on March 9, has been proposed by Frédérique Meunier, an MP for right-wing party Les Républicains, and backed by 25 other MPs.

The bill reads, “mothers-to-be are finding it increasingly difficult to park and access town centres.

“It is proposed that women who are more than six months pregnant be allowed to park their vehicles in disabled parking spaces, and/or where appropriate, to use spaces reserved for this purpose by municipalities and commercial signage.”

In order for the women to benefit from this right, they would have to go to their local prefecture and present a written promise (déclaration sur l’honneur) and a medical certificate. They would then receive a badge that will have an end date that they can put in their car.

The use of the parking spaces would not exempt the women from having to pay parking fees, the bill states.

The bill also suggests going further and creating parking spaces specially dedicated to pregnant women.

Some mairies or retailers in France have already created dedicated spaces for pregnant women, such as in Villennes-sur-Seine (Yvelines), Le Figaro reports.

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