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The accessibility fund supports local shops and establishments

Published on November 16, 2023 by Pierre Belhache - 4 mins reading time
Professionals Self-employed Companies

Last October, the French government announced the launch of a 300 million euro, 5-year territorial accessibility fund (FTA) to help local businesses and establishments open to the public (ERP) to accommodate people with reduced mobility (PMR). Today, 560,000 out of 800,000 establishments are not accessible, despite the fact that one French person in six is disabled.

A fund for category 5 ERP

Many shops, doctors' surgeries and everyday establishments are finding it difficult to comply with accessibility criteria. In fact, almost half of them are not adapted to accommodate people with disabilities. This proportion rises to 7 out of 10 category 5 facilities. This constitutes a breach of the February 11, 2005 law on equal rights and opportunities.

To speed up the accessibility of local establishments, the government has announced the creation of a 300 million euro territorial accessibility fund (FTA) for a 5-year period (from November 2, 2023 to December 31, 2028).

The accessibility fund is aimed at 5th category establishments open to the public (ERP):

  • sales outlets,
  • restaurants or drinking establishments,
  • hotels or guesthouses,
  • banking institutions.

 

Assistance of up to €20,000

The Accessibility Fund allows the State to cover up to 50% of the cost of the work, up to a maximum of 20,000 euros.

Eligible establishments can use this sum to finance several types of work:

  • Accessibility equipment (access ramps, sanitary facilities with grab bars, etc.);
  • Accessibility work (installation of an access ramp, widening of corridors, etc.);
  • A diagnosis of the facility's accessibility;
  • Engineering and project management expenses.

The government promises a "highly simplified" application procedure. To benefit from the scheme, all you have to do is submit an application on the Agence de services et de paiement asp-public.fr website. If the application is deemed complete, the beneficiary can request payment of a 30% advance into his or her business account, or direct payment of the full balance of the aid on presentation of receipted invoices and the accepted Cerfa form.

Priority Olympic and Paralympic host cities

The forthcoming Olympic and Paralympic Games could be used to make up for France's lag in providing disabled access to public facilities. In the run-up to the event, French President Emmanuel Macron had already unveiled a global fund of 1.5 billion euros for the country's accessibility. Part of this fund will be released this autumn and the remainder in the first quarter of 2024, with priority given to establishments in cities hosting Olympic events.

" Shopkeepers and local authorities will already be working in a highly coordinated way to welcome these games - and therefore many visitors - so we know that the fund will particularly benefit these areas. But it's not exclusive ," reports the office of Fadila Khattabi, Minister Delegate for the Disabled, in a press release.