freewheeling madness

Powerful, singular and furious, the “symphony” of motorized rounds resounds. In urban rodeo jargon, this is the subtle play of brief jerks of the throttle grip. This Sunday, June 19, in the afternoon, the concert is given behind closed doors in a secret place in the Parisian suburbs, on a road axis under construction closed to traffic, far from dwellings. Warm atmosphere until nightfall. On the asphalt mingle kids from housing estates, students, specialized educators, driving instructors, VTC drivers, sometimes even lawyers, police officers, gendarmes, etc. Their passion – devouring, they swear – goes beyond the framework of underprivileged neighborhoods.

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Dozens of men and women make their mounts roar: cross, circuit motorcycle, TMax, Honda Gold Wing, BMW or small Piwi 80 cm3 initially intended for children. Metal steeds embarked in high aerobatic figures. From the classic “wheeling”, a rear wheel, to the impressive “stoppie”, a front wheel. A Breton, white jogging, curly hair in the wind, succeeds in a “raking” by touching the asphalt with his hand without stopping rolling. A Parisian, helmeted, equipped with back protection, tries an exercise just as difficult by scraping his license plate on the ground: this is called a “bib”. There are also the “knees on the saddle”, the “Spider-Man” – standing on the motorcycle without access to the brakes – and the classic peaks at 200 km/h… A spectacular, forbidden, clandestine show. The law does not discourage cross bitumen addicts, another name for wild rodeo. Acrobats run the risk of one year imprisonment and a fine of 15,000 euros. “The hunt is on,” laughs an experienced biker yellow. It’s getting harder and harder to slip through the cracks and roll!”

Djibril* is 31 years old, twenty of whom have experience on two wheels. Store your bikes in the garage? Impossible. “Before the start, the adrenaline skyrockets,” he explains, elated. At each session, I hope to return home alive to wish my son goodnight. I hear talk of prevention, but on my motorcycle, I’m in my world. Nothing matters anymore. On the outskirts of cities, on isolated “lines”, I ride without a helmet. When I go down, I find myself stupid. I promise to change, but nothing helps…”

According to them, no argument can sacrifice this absolute, intense and dangerous freedom. Not even the dead. In 2021, the authorities identify three of them, hit during rodeos, and 2022 is not spared from tragedies. In many cases, the victims are the drivers or their passengers. The injured, they are counted in shambles, says the Ministry of the Interior without being able to give precise figures. Electric scooters would cause just as much damage. In July 2021, a 32-year-old woman died in Paris on the banks of the Seine; last week, in Nice, a child, a 5-year-old Ukrainian refugee, was hit and then succumbed to his injuries. The repression against the new motorized personal transport devices (EDPM) is less severe, while the cross bitumen is in the sights of the government. Convictions have increased by 1,400% since 2018, the chancellery said last January. The “barodes”, these convoys of dozens – even hundreds – of motorcycles and quads, are the legitimate fear of the pedestrians and motorists they meet, in addition to constituting a sonic torture and giving nightmares to the forces of the army. ‘order. A perilous game of cat and mouse is established between police and bikers, sometimes fatal for the latter who denounce the extreme aggressiveness of certain agents, capable of gassing them in the race. “Others, on the contrary, advocate dialogue to appease, admits a young man. Opposite, the kids foolishly provoke them… It’s the snake biting its own tail.”

For four years, the law of August 3, 2018 has increased the penalties against motorized rodeos by seizing and destroying vehicles, goods which can be worth up to 30,000 or even 50,000 euros depending on the model. The measure could have discouraged, it reinforces hit and run offenses. “When you see a patrol, a regular responds frankly, you escape! Especially since many scrap dealers resell our bikes on the black market instead of destroying them. It’s infuriating.”

Many pilots claim an art of living from the United States

The state does not intend to sympathize. Like every summer, the government launches its offensive, multiplying the expeditions punches. Since May, between 250 and 400 operations are scheduled each weekend on national territory. Around 5,600 interventions have been carried out so far, compared to 3,900 last year, and almost 1,000 national police procedures have been recorded, compared to 826 in 2021 at the same time. “We are acting on several levels to dry up the practice,” says Frédéric Laissy, head of the information and communication service of the national police. “On the one hand, via prevention with our partners in the field, such as town halls and leisure centers, to raise awareness among the youngest. On the other hand, through long-term investigations, we target the places of storage of the machines and the profiles of the drivers to better challenge and seize, without necessarily resorting to flagrante delicto.

The attacks weaken the adversary, without destroying it. Teams of robbers have even specialized in the theft of motorcycles. “In my neighborhood, laments Djbril, they broke a box and took 10,000 euros worth of equipment from us!” The democratization of this sport brings its share of controversy. Its overmediatization on social networks – Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat – does not help its reputation. These powerful spotlights attract daredevil, reckless and provocative drivers, whose interest in the discipline is limited to the buzz it creates. “Selfish, clowns who seek to exist! annoyed a forty-something. They are irresponsible. Because of them, we are all demonized. “It’s like the Daltons,” adds another. They rodeo to communicate aggressively. They use it as business.”

Today, many riders claim and recognize themselves in “bikelife”, this movement imported from the poor neighborhoods of New York, Baltimore and Latin America, sublimated in “Rodéo”, the first film by director Lola Quivoron , selected at the last Cannes Film Festival in the Un certain regard category. In France, Sébastien, known as “Pack”, is at the origin of this importation via his group, Dirty Riderz Crew, launched with three friends. “In the United States, he explains to us, bikelife appeared in rap clips with non-approved gear. In Latin America, these are authorized vehicles. There, the public authorities have integrated the practice. The French act in their corner, clandestinely. But there is a huge economy, a real, anchored culture.

Contrary to gossip, many have become aware of the danger, avoiding cities and crowded places. Of the thousands of bikers addicted to the rodeo, only a minority would be irresponsible, according to the followers. “We learn from our youthful mistakes, promises Djibril. As a teenager, I wanted to impress the friends, the girls. At 17, I almost killed a baby on the sidewalk by hitting his stroller, it calmed me down. Never again will I take risks with people around. I am aware of the reproaches, sometimes deserved. It is up to us to convince the most unconscious. For that, we need structures and the support of elected officials.” For everyone, supervision is the only solution to avoid accidents and tragedies. “All you need is a space with rules, protective equipment, an organization, a first aid station. The kids are even ready to pay”, assures Soumaila, alias Doukkanch_prod, a renowned neighborhood influencer, seasoned biker. A desire to formalize urban rodeo is progressing through initiatives such as the SOS Rodeo association, intended to soften relations with politicians and find common ground, or such as the Team DRC created by Pack.

“We are working on a legal framework, says the latter, such as the tracks of racing motorcycle circuits. We also imagine competitions to encourage good practice.” But Pack remains bitter: “I contacted the prefects, the town halls, the Ministry of Sports. Without success. Nobody listens to us. In Paris, we open shooting rooms for drug addicts and we criminalize our sport. There is an urgent need for a lasting, frank political will, because simple repression radicalizes rodeo enthusiasts. “They would always be more numerous