Exhibitions featuring bicycles are few and far between, which is all the more reason not to miss the simply titled Art et Bicyclette show that is currently on at the Espace de l’Art Concret at the Château de Mouans. It’s an opportunity to explore the passionate links between art and the bicycle and to see cycling in a more poetic, quirkier light.

We often talk about how cycling has made progress in city centres but what about in French urban agglomerations? The  website of the city of Tours paints a picture that is worrying, to say the least: in the Tours agglomeration, only 4% of urban journeys are made by bike. Although the figure rises to 11% within the city walls of in Tours city centre, this is mainly due to the implementation of the low-price Velocity rental system. This is food for thought in terms of the influence of bike sharing on the development of cycling in towns.

As part of the government’s presentation of its “National Cycling Plan” on the 26th January, the ‘Club des Villes et Territoires Cyclables’  (“Cycleable Towns and Regions Club”) presented ten key measures to develop the bike in France. These include proposals to increase the number of green and cycle lanes and, above all, the possibility of companies qualifying for tax exemption if they make bikes available to their employees.

Another initiative - a regional one this time - is the "bike plan" of the Ile-de-France region, which aims to award subsidies to the different projects presented. Here again, the main ideas involve the creation of cycle paths and ‘green ways’; the budget for this plan is considerable at €24m.

The crucial problems of urban traffic congestion and parking are decidedly very much in the news this week.  This time, it’s the Mobilicités site questioning whether French public car parks and transport are capable of reaching an agreement. More than ever, beyond the conflict between these two entities, there is a need for a comprehensive sustainable parking policy for large metropolises.

A street sign that Tweets? No, you’re not imagining it!  As reported by the innovcity website, the “Girouette” signpost, which is directly linked to the Twitter micro-blogging network, has been installed in Lyon. Intended to provide information regarding public spaces and moderated prior to publication, “Girouette” is one step further towards the ‘digital city’.

Finally, you no longer need to go skiing if you want to see cable cars: in fact, the city of Brest has just fitted itself out with its first urban cable car. Designed to complement the traditional public transport (underground, bus and tram), it should have a huge impact on traffic in the Breton city.  And, in addition, it won’t fail to attract tourists.

France was the global leader in the electric car market in 2011: this good news comes to us from the voiture-électrique-populaire website, which tells us that 2,629 fully electric vehicles were sold in France last year. However, the other side of the story is that these 2,629 vehicles barely represent 0.12% of the entire French automotive market, in which 2,204,229 new cars were sold in 2011…

How much are our cars, be they electric or hybrid, actually consuming? The automobile.challenges website is asking the question quite simply because automotive manufacturers have to comply with rules of measurement, which sometimes lead to results that are far removed from reality. This also gives us the opportunity to have a better idea of electric vehicle consumption.

Finally, it’s worth noting that the town of Beauvais has been singled out by AVERE (Association for Battery, Hybrid and Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles) for its investment in sustainable and electric mobility in 2011. It’s a fine example of a town in which electric buses and cars are an integral part of everyday life for its inhabitants.