Drivers of motorized two-wheelers do not take off. Several hundred bikers marched this Saturday in various French cities such as Toulouse, Lille, Bordeaux or Rennes, to protest against the introduction of the technical inspection of their machines from 2023.
In Toulouse, a procession made up of 900 vehicles, according to figures from the Haute-Garonne prefecture, met the call of various biker federations in the region, before taking the A64, called “Pyrénéenne”, and then heading towards the ring road at low speed, revving their engines.
In the Pink City, the mobilization also referred to the establishment of a low emission zone (FSE), which will lead to the ban on Crit’air 4, 5 certified and unclassified cars and two-wheelers (the oldest) to starting January 1. 2023.
In Bordeaux, 850 motorcycles paraded through the city depending on the prefecture, some displaying a sign “No to technical control” and “I control, you control, they get rich.”
In the capital of Flanders, there were 650, according to a police source, who would have gathered around 3:00 p.m. in the Place de la République, near the prefecture of Lille.
In Rennes, 350 to 400 cyclists gathered in front of the Ille-et-Vilaine prefecture in the early afternoon, also from the neighboring departments of Morbihan and Côtes d’Armor.
In Pau, there were several hundred according to the newspaper southwest. Demonstrations also took place in Reims and Strasbourg where 250 motorcycles paraded.
A technical control considered ineffective
Philippe Maussion, coordinator of the French Federation of Furious Motorcyclists (FFMC) 59, called on the State not to “give in to associations of Parisian pseudo-ecologists whose sole objective is to expel any motorist from Paris.”
“We are here to encourage the government to continue its efforts on alternative solutions to the compulsory technical control for two wheels,” said Philippe Jéhanno, event coordinator for FFMC 35.
“Technical control will be ineffective in terms of safety. In ten years, the number of two-wheelers has increased by 30% while mortality has dropped by 19%. We are good students of road safety,” he says.
The Ille-et-Vilaine FFMC should be received on Thursday at the prefecture to address specific issues of the department, in particular related to security, he specified.
Demonstration in Paris on Sunday
In a ruling dated October 31, the Council of State reestablished the technical control of two-wheeled vehicles, the application of which was scheduled for early 2023 before its cancellation by the Government. Europe has been asking its member countries since 2014 to establish this verification for two-wheeled vehicles.
Despite the decision of the Council of State, the case remains complex. Several questions still arise, including about the training of technicians and the number of centers that will have to be created in the territory.
With BFMTV, the cabinet of Clément Beaune, Minister Delegate in charge of Transport, stated very simply last week that “the permanent consultation with the interested parties will lead to the precise definition of the technical control procedures”.
However, the ministry specified that more than 1.5 million vehicles are affected by the device.
A week ago, more than 1,500 motorcyclists, from various departments in the south of France, had already marched in Montpellier to protest against this measure. Other demonstrations are planned this weekend, including one in Paris on Sunday.
Source: BFM TV
