The postponement of the technical control of two-wheelers, announced by the government, is deemed illegal by the Council of State

New twist in the case of the technical control of two-wheelers. Wednesday July 27, the Council of State ruled illegal two decrees issued in August 2021 which aimed to postpone the entry into force of the compulsory technical inspection to January 2023 and then to suspend the measure altogether.

This decision comes the day after the publication of another decree, which came to definitively bury the idea of ​​a compulsory technical inspection for two-wheelers, in favor of other measures.

“No time to bother the French”

The legal battle between environmental defense associations and the government has therefore experienced a new episode. Referred to in summary proceedings, the Council of State had already agreed with the associations in May and ordered the executive to apply it from October 2022. It ruled this time on the merits of the case. The state Council considered that certain provisions of the decree of August 9, 2021 “leading to the postponement of the application of the technical control of motorized two-wheelers to the 1er January 2023 » misunderstood “the deadline of 1er January 2022 fixed » by the European Parliament and Council from 2014.

Announced on August 11, 2021, for application on the date scheduled by the European Union, the new technical inspection of two-wheelers had finally been “suspended until further notice” at the request of the President of the Republic the following day. “After discovering this measure, the President of the Republic decided that it was not the time to bother the Frenchhad then explained an adviser to the executive. With the health crisis, the past, we are already asking a lot of them. We can be for security without bothering the French in their daily lives, a priori without their support. »

A decree had therefore been issued on August 12, 2021, by the Minister of Transport, to suspend the measure of the day before. On Wednesday, the Council of State also rescinded the decree on August 12on the grounds that “the execution of laws and the exercise of regulatory power rests with the Prime Minister, the Minister of Transport could not legally make such a decision”, explains the highest administrative jurisdiction.

Defense of the environment

“The decision of the Council of State is clear: the government must implement the technical control immediately to comply with European law. The procrastination and reversals of the government are no longer in order”commented M.e Camille Mialot, the lawyer for the associations Respire, Ras le scoot and Paris without a car.

These NGOs for the defense of the environment or the fight against the nuisances of two-wheelers had seized the Council of State to force the government to impose the measure, denouncing a harmful setback for air quality but also safety and noise pollution. “Rather than draw the consequences of the decisions of the Council of State, the government persists in violating the law and will be condemned again, reacted the Ras le scoot association on Twitter. With Respire and Paris without a car, we will continue to fight to end the undue privileges of motorized two-wheelers..

On Tuesday, the government thought it had drawn a definitive line on this idea, announcing that it would favor “alternative measures” such as awareness campaigns, improving infrastructure or tightening certification standards. The highest administrative court, however, puts the subject back on the table – and condemns the State to pay 1,000 euros to each of these associations for the costs incurred.

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The World with AFP


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