French President Emmanuel Macron announced on Thursday, February 6, in a video on TikTok, that wheelchairs would be "100%" reimbursed by public health insurance. The list of all wheelchairs covered was to be published on Friday and, "from December 1, wheelchairs will be reimbursed at 100%, as promised." For special requests, full reimbursement is also planned after "prior agreement on the advice of a doctor" with a lead time of "two months."

The promise was made by the president at the National Disability Conference, on April 26, 2023, with entry into force "as early as 2024." It was reiterated by the prime minister at the time, Gabriel Attal, in his government policy statement on January 30, 2024, and, a year later, by his successor, François Bayrou, who announced that it would come into effect "as early as 2025."

In 2019, the Institute for Research and Documentation in Health Economics (Irdes) estimated that between 1.08 and 1.13 million used wheelchairs non-temporarily. The majority are elderly, but this number also includes 253,000 people under the age of 65, including 22,500 children. Affected by disabilities or neurodegenerative diseases, they often require more specific, and therefore more expensive, equipment. Around 150,000 wheelchairs are purchased each year.

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