Delays to accessibility

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Public buildings open to the public are supposed to be accessible to all, including handicapped with effect from the end of this year, 2015. Many of us have seen new town halls in small communes and improvements to other public buildings, but only about 40% are "aux normes". And that takes no account of private buildings open to the public, such as shops, restaurants and places of entertainment, many of which have made great efforts.
Now parliament has passed a bill allowing 3-9 years extra for public buildings to come into line. Malc attended a meeting in Varen a couple of years ago when the question of accessibility to the mairie was discussed. If you know the mairie, you will recall that the public rooms, including the salle des mariages , were up a flight of stone circular stairs aided by a rope hand rail. The plan was to move to the ground floor and several councillors expressed reservations at the "unnecessary" expense. Malc pointed out that not only wheelchair users found it difficult, but also elderly people, young mothers with babies or toddlers and anyone with breathing difficulties could not access the mairie . Now we have a new municipal suite housed in the ground floor of the chateau, where nobody will be excluded from the wedding of a favourite granddaughter!
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