This Issue Brief explores the governance of autonomous vehicle experiments in France and shows how it allows (or not) to direct autonomous technology towards an offer compatible with the collective objectives of sustainable mobility.
Key Messages
- The institutional debate on autonomous mobility focuses on the issues of safety and industrial competitiveness, to the detriment of other strategic issues related to mobility.
- However, the institutionalisation of experimental consortia organised around local authorities shows the willingness to move the cursor towards mobility needs. Local authorities have a key role to play in linking autonomous vehicles and territorial mobility issues, mobilising and organising the various actors and providing resources (human, financial, infrastructure, etc.).
- Nevertheless, some strategic issues related to the development of autonomous mobility go beyond the competence of local authorities, such as the adaptation of road infrastructure. The State must therefore commit itself to a real co-construction of tomorrow's autonomous mobility with local authorities by setting a course for the objectives pursued in terms of sustainable mobility. Unfortunately, such a strategy is still lacking at the moment.
