Velolib Paris's white bikes

I walked past at least 3 velolib charge in/out stations on the walk frol Gare St Lazare. First 30 minutes is free, the rest is chargeable. Some of the bikes are trashed, flat tires, vandalized seats, but I saw several people riding along on the velo lib bikes. There is also some sort of bike lane marking around here, with the panneaux (signs) featuring the green bike logo that I know from London) so I must have hit Paris's inner city bike experiment.

Another experiment I will see is "Paris Plage" which starts on July 20. Apparently some part of the city is turned into an artifical St Tropez, with trucked in sand, beach umbrellas, etc. Hmm, cue the Beach Boys. I will definitely check that out.

Whether I ride Sir Gulliver in Paris is another question mark for me. The traffic got more scary the closer I got to Paris. Vernon was a doozie: not only pavés but also manhole covers in random patterns right in the bike lane part of the arterial. Definitely "advanced cycling" terrain, and I have the numbness in my right wrist to prove it. I don't like rides that are serious "handlebar grippers" and I think Paris is full of them. Je marche à pied, je croise...