With the municipal elections approaching, elected officials are being called upon to address the issue of "kid-friendly" cities.

"Childhood must be an absolute priority" in this election, urged Béatrice Lefrançois, Secretary General of UNICEF France, at a conference held Tuesday in Paris on the subject. "There are just over 14 million children in France, and 80% of families with children live in urban areas; the trends we are seeing are alarming."

"At the end of the 1980s, one in two children went to school alone, today it is only 9% of CM2 students," added the representative of the United Nations Children's Fund in France, deploring "a decline in the autonomy of these children" who have become "indoor children".

The cause, in particular, is the feeling of insecurity felt by young people - one in five say they do not feel safe in their neighborhood according to the latest national survey by UNICEF - and their parents - three-quarters of them consider walking more dangerous than in their time and 90% are worried about road safety.

Convinced that "mayors have a decisive role" in changing the situation, UNICEF published on Monday a series of 10 recommendations for mayors to create "child-friendly cities".

Imported from Italy in the 1990s, this concept advocates organizing the city around the needs of children by establishing pedestrian zones around schools - streets to schools - rethinking playgrounds, widening and securing sidewalks, adding green spaces...

It is essential "to provide outdoor spaces for children, to open up the city and nature to them", adds the CEP-Enfance collective, which brings together around a hundred organizations (FCEP, ATD-Quart monde, Ligue des droits de l'homme...) in a press release published Tuesday, calling on mayors to have a "global vision".

Exhaust pipes

The advocacy of children's rights associations at election time is not new, but it takes on a particular dimension this year with the outcry caused at the end of January by the SNCF's new "child-free" Optimum business class.

This announcement provoked outrage from politicians of all stripes, with children's advocate Eric Delemar calling for a "political awakening" in the face of regular violations of children's rights in France.

In twenty years, things have nevertheless evolved in France - 300 cities are involved in UNICEF's "child-friendly city" initiative compared to a dozen in 2002. But "we need to go further" and generalize these spaces, believes Tony Renucci, director general of the Respire association.

"Children are at exhaust pipe level, but their bodies are not yet fully developed; they also breathe faster, so they inhale more pollutants," he adds. The street-to-school initiative "allows for a reduction of up to 30% on average in nitrogen dioxide concentration; we can see that solutions exist, now we need to amplify" the movement.

This view is shared by the government, starting with the High Commissioner for Children Sarah El Haïry, who has made the fight against "no-kids" ("child-free") spaces her main focus.

"There is nothing revolutionary, nothing utopian, nothing insurmountable," she emphasizes, insisting that a "kids-friendly" city would be "beneficial for everyone," especially for the elderly or disabled, and would constitute an "alternative" to screens.

Faced with "air pollution, noise, excessive construction, and the lack of nature," it is crucial that mayors activate all available levers and "accelerate the process," stated Health and Families Minister Stéphanie Rist. This is a "public health issue," she added, warning elected officials against the temptation to use it as a mere electoral "marketing tool."