ACCESSIBILITY & INCLUSION

The City of Paris says the new fortnight succeeds the Mois parisien du handicap. Rather than treating accessibility as a narrow technical subject, the programme is designed around everyday participation: being able to see, hear, move, communicate and take part in culture, sport, leisure, employment and public life.

The citywide programme brings together associations, institutions, cultural organisations, sports structures, community groups and residents. Its stated goals include making disabled people and their experiences more visible, challenging discrimination, celebrating disability pride and showing practical projects that are making Paris more inclusive.

That makes this more than a calendar of awareness talks. The official programme mixes hands-on workshops, demonstrations, performances, exhibitions, conferences, adapted sport and festive events, with organisers encouraging the wider public to participate rather than simply observe.

The opening event is being held on Saturday 19 September from 14:00 to 18:00 at Place Félix Éboué in the 12th arrondissement. The City listing marks it free, open to all and accessible for people with reduced mobility as well as people with hearing, visual and cognitive disabilities. It notes that sign-language reception is not available for this particular event.

The line-up includes a theatre performance by Les Toupies, adapted games from Ludothèque Accessijeux, a participatory mural workshop with Handinamik, and adapted sport activities from the Viacti sport-health organisation alongside the City’s solidarity services.

Because this launch sits on a public square rather than inside a ticketed venue, it is one of the easiest ways to sample the fortnight without committing to a long session or advance booking. As with any outdoor Paris event, local conditions and programme timings can still change, so the official listing is the safest last-minute check.

One of the clearest hands-on events is Paris bouge ensemble, which takes over Place de la Bastille on Friday 25 and Saturday 26 September from 10:00 to 18:00. The event is free and the City listing says it is accessible across mobility, hearing, visual and cognitive categories, with sign-language reception available.

The programme is unusually broad: boccia, wheelchair basketball, sled hockey, baskIN, judo, archery, boxing, taekwondo, pétanque, dance, chess, running, strength work and motor-skills activities are among the disciplines advertised. Paris clubs that welcome para-athletes will supervise the activities, and the sessions are open to disabled and non-disabled participants.

For residents, it is a chance to discover clubs and adapted sport options that continue beyond the fortnight. For visitors, it is a free public event in a central location and an accessible alternative to the usual museum-and-monument itinerary.

The fortnight is deliberately decentralised. Events are spread across Paris rather than concentrated in one venue, so the useful way to plan is by date and arrondissement.

Examples in the current City programme include the outdoor photo exhibition “Ce corps qui échappe” at the Mairie de Paris Centre through 4 October, focused on invisible disability and accompanied by easy-to-read material and audio description; a concert and debate on inclusion in culture and artistic creation at the Mairie de Paris Centre on 28 September; and neighbourhood inclusion events organised with local associations.

The official programme page is the master list and was updated on 18 September 2026. New or revised individual listings can appear during the fortnight, so the master programme is more reliable than treating any static shortlist as complete.

The City’s main programme page describes the fortnight as inclusive but its top-level event card leaves the standard accessibility fields unspecified. That does not mean the individual events are inaccessible; it means the practical details live on each event’s own page.

For example, the Place Félix Éboué launch explicitly lists access for mobility, hearing, visual and cognitive disabilities, while the Bastille parasport village additionally lists sign-language reception. Other events have their own combinations of access information, booking requirements and venue constraints.

If an accommodation is essential, check the official event page shortly before travelling and contact the organiser when the listing is unclear. That is especially important for sign-language access, sensory conditions, step-free routes and events that require advance reservation.

The City’s framing is notable because it focuses on barriers that can remain invisible to people who do not encounter them. The programme is intended to make those barriers easier to understand while also showing disabled people’s creative work, sporting participation, advocacy and community leadership.

It also gives smaller associations and neighbourhood initiatives citywide visibility. The City invited associations, establishments, collectives and partner services to contribute events, creating a programme that ranges from large public-space activities to smaller talks and workshops.

For Paris, the timing is significant too: the city is using the first edition to move from a month-long disability label to a shorter, more concentrated programme explicitly titled around both accessibility and inclusion.

This is primarily a Paris community programme, so residents — particularly people looking for local associations, accessible activities or inclusive services — are the main audience. But many events are listed as open to everyone, and several are free.

Travellers who will be in Paris between 19 September and 4 October can use the programme as a different way to experience neighbourhood life. It is particularly useful for disabled travellers seeking events that publish explicit access information, or for anyone interested in parasport, inclusive culture and community-led public events.

Do not assume every listing is drop-in. The City’s programme page advises checking the specific event details and recommends reservations where applicable.

This article was checked on 19 September 2026 against current City of Paris programme and event listings. The master programme was updated on 18 September 2026.

• Ville de Paris — Accessibility & Inclusion Fortnight 2026 programme
• Ville de Paris — 19 September launch at Place Félix Éboué
• Ville de Paris — Paris bouge ensemble parasport village