A car parked on a cycle path, in the Saint-Augustin district. Jean Cittone / Le Figaro
This Saturday 1er April, four cycling organizations in the Bordeaux metropolitan area organize a satirical action to denounce illegal parking.
Le Figaro Bordeaux
This is not an April Fool. This Saturday 1er April, several associations of cyclists in the Bordeaux metropolitan area are launching aVerbalisAction” in the agglomeration and on social networks, in order to “denounce and elect the most #GavéMalGaré motorists in the Bordeaux metropolis“. An offbeat and good-natured action, but which wants to denounce sometimes very dangerous situations in the city.
False PV are available on the Internet, so that everyone “can print and cut some to leave equipped for this day of action in a tone of humor“. Resembling real fines, these fines tell the driver of the badly parked vehicle that “a breach of the parking regulations should have been raised to [son] against“, recalling the fine incurred of 135 euros. ““Just for two minutes”, “No room”. But for pedestrians, people with reduced mobility, pushchairs, it means getting off on the road and, for cyclists, taking the risk of drifting“Explains this leaflet, which wants to raise awareness without feeling guilty.
“Under cover of joke of 1er April, the participatory bicycle workshops wish to highlight practices that daily threaten the safety of pedestrians, people with reduced mobility and cyclists», and this in order to «challenge the public authorities, believing that there is too much laxity in terms of verbalization“. In addition, the four partner organizations of the action, Etu’Récup, Vélo-Cité, Léon à Vélo and Cycles&Manivelles “recall that infrastructure plays an essential role» and that these annoying parking lots are «not just a matter of bad individual behavior“, but require adjustments on the part of local authorities.
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“We are not vigilantes”
These false verbalizations had already appeared in the streets of Bordeaux in 2021, but the action could not be repeated last year. “We’re relaunching it in 2023 and the goal is to do it every year, to give a little reminder on safety issues for pedestrians and bicycles.», explains Bastien, volunteer administrator at Cycles&Manivelles. The purpose of the collective is also to bring together the “bikers» and other members of the «cyclosphere“who exchange regularly on Twitter, and to have a map of problem locations, “to use it as an argument in our discussions with the municipalities“.
This action, however, does not seek to bring shame to individual users. “We hide license plates, we are not vigilantes“explains Bastien. “We are not there to attack individuals but to highlight the behaviors that pose a problem.»
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Although the associations recognize that progress has been made, in Bordeaux and in metropolitan France, they believe that “infrastructure does not follow the growth of cycling“, a sharp increase. Some routes are not sufficiently secure to allow all cyclists to feel safe there. The appointment is therefore given this Saturday 1er April at 10 a.m. at Cycles&Manivelles, rue Léon Gambetta in Bègles, “to share a friendly breakfast before going on the #GavéMalGaré trophy hunt“. Associations “also call for the multiplication of autonomous actions“, because the use of these satirical verbalizations “also works very well beyond 1er april“.