Paris 2024: Paralympics ‘shame’ in lack of Metro disabled access

Andrew Parsons, president of the International Paralympic Committee, told the BBC he was disappointed there had not been more improvements to the Metro in the lead-up to the Games.

But he said it would have required a change in the law and “monumental” investment to make a significant impact in the seven years of preparation.

“It made it virtually impossible,” he said.

Instead, he pointed to the authorities’ “massive investment” in the city’s buses.

“We understand a degree of frustration not having the Metro, but we also like to highlight a positive outcome and legacy from these Games, which is to invest in the bus transport system, making it accessible,” he said.

A spokesperson for the RATP Group, which operates public transport in Paris, said the Metro network is “very old and one of the densest in the world”, making it difficult and costly to make widespread changes.

Mr Caffin says he has to “fight hard all the time” as a disabled person in Paris – but adds that “there is always a solution”.

“It’s not always easy to go out. But when you know places and you know people, there’s always a way to get around it.”