On Saturday November 5, the inhabitants of the very opulent avenue Foch, in Paris, will bless their triple glazing. At 2 p.m., siesta time, the “Paris and inner suburbs” section of the French Federation of Angry Bikers (FFMC) calls on its members to demonstrate loudly, using not only the roar of their engines, but also “Whistles and Pans”.
Officially, the watchword of the event denounces the paid parking for motorized two-wheelers, in force since 1er September in the capital. But on the association’s Facebook page, comments from members leave no doubt: they also intend to protest against the “racketeering” that would constitute, according to them, a technical control imposed on their machines.
Motorized two-wheelers, as well as carts that can be driven without a license, are indeed exempt from the control to which private car owners must submit every two years since 1996. However, the Council of State, seized by three associations, Ras the scoot, Respire and Paris without car, decided, Monday, October 31, that France could not escape this regulation imposed by a European directive of 2014.
According to the National Interministerial Observatory for Road Safety, 820 users of motorized two-wheelers died on the road in 2019, i.e. 23.4% of people who died in a traffic accident, “while their estimated share in road traffic is less than 2%”.
“Alternative Measures”
The judgment of the administrative jurisdiction marks yet another rebound in a legal saga that looks like a ping-pong match. On August 11, 2021, a few months before the deadline for the 1er January 2022 provided for by the directive, France finally transposed the European text, by a decree establishing a technical inspection for two-wheelers of more than 50 cubic centimeters, that is to say motorcycles, but also scooters. The next day, Emmanuel Macron demanded the suspension of the decree, taking up a formula attributed to Georges Pompidou: “Now is not the time to bother the French”at least those who own one of the 2.7 million machines in circulation.
However, it took almost a year, on July 26, for a decree to officially repeal that of August 2021. The government then promised measures intended to reduce road safety linked to motorized two-wheelers: reform of the driving license driving, obligation to wear safety equipment, improvement of infrastructure or awareness campaigns. But, for the Council of State, these announcements are not enough.
You have 47.35% of this article left to read. The following is for subscribers only.