Most historical research on cycling in France has focused on the development of the technical object and the bicycle industry, mainly in the nineteenth century1, or on cycling as a sport2. Some historians have studied the bicycle as a social object3. But the works dealing with cycling as a means of transport are scarce. The special double session on ‘Cycling History and Cycling Policies’ at the T2M conference in Madrid, 15-18 November, 2012 was an opportunity to confront inputs from various countries. The present paper is an attempt to answer the five discussion questions about cycling for transport, in the case of France.
