Traffic in Paris is rather chaotic though (it's actually nice to see quite a few cyclists despite this chaos). I'd be concerned about rider safety.
> She said parking in such a way as to obstruct traffic or pedestrians will mean a 35-euro fine -- but the Paris city council has pledged to build parking spots for 2,500 scooters.
No they don't, some assholes push them and make them fall on purpose, I have seen it done many times here in Paris. Those idiot vigilantes seem to hope that by wreaking havoc they will increase the negative perception of the population against the scooters and their riders.
Overall there's a huge need for traffic rules enforcement in Paris, for everyone. Pedestrians complain about cyclists/scooters, cyclists complain about motorcycles, motorcycles complain about cars, cars complain about pedestrian and bikes, all in good reason.
I've lived in Japan before and cyclists aren't allowed to ride on the sidewalk sure to danger to pedestrians but this happens way too often anyways due to lack of enforcement. Unexpectedly some of the worst offenders are middle aged housewife types. Agreed that in pedestrian heavy cities like Tokyo or Paris you really need to look out for their safety.