In France, bicycle use underwent growth, then decline fostered by motorization. Historical sources give sales, fleet, traffic, accidents, trips, modal share, and estimated mileage. Historical surveys have enabled accurate measurement of the bicycle share in French travel only since the 1960’s. In the last national travel survey in 2007-08, a biographic add-on collected some 1100 grids where interviewees stated their main travel means for each year in their life. These retrospective data yield relatively reliable pictures of the overall modal split for regular trips. Thence it is possible to estimate the share of the bicycle as main travel means since the 1930’s. But these data also show that bicycle use follows more a period effect than a generation or age effect.
