This follows a referendum in April in which Parisians voted to ban the battery-powered-scooters, confirming that many regarded them as an unbearable nuisance.
The alternative is public transportation or bicycles, not cars - at least in cities. And they do pullute, just not while running. From what I found, their typical lifespan could be as short as a few months, which is insane
I live in a big city with scooters and ok public transport. If I need a one way to some destination, I almost always take the scooter because I have a 10/15m walk to the next tram/train station, sometimes I even take it to the train station.
Before the scooters I would use car-sharing. Or my own car and not drink. Or ride my bike back drunk instead of taking a taxi.
Scooters aren’t perfect, but - because there are more people like me - to some extent they reduce cars. Convenience is key.
I would welcome a regulation that would address the lifespan issue that you mention instead of an outright ban. Banning things is usually stupid.
I have never met a single person who switched from using a car to using one of these services. They are literally just replacing the traffic that was done earlier by walking public transport or cycling. Not to mention that they are total e-waist