Hundreds of people rallied across France on Saturday, calling for an end to “vehicular violence” and calling for measures to ease tensions on the French capital’s busy streets, days after a 27-year-old cyclist was crushed to death.
About 1,000 protesters in Paris, according to police figures, many on bicycles, called for calm as tensions flared in a battle for street space in the city centre.
Some were seething with anger, while others were sad, displaying placards saying “slow speed, great gentleness”, “walk or pedal for appeased street” and “stop motorized violence”.
“Sometimes, people need to calm down, the road is for everyone,” said Veronique, who declined to give her last name, to AFP.
“It could be me, the car is a weapon,” said the 30-year-old protester, who rides an electric bike to work every day.
“Vehicle violence kills. We want the authorities to really understand this topic,” said Anne Monmarche, president of the association Paris en Selle, which encourages the improvement of conditions for cyclists.
Paul Varry, who was killed on Tuesday in the center of Paris by an SUV driver following an argument between the two, was a member of the Paris en Selle group.
Monmarche is part of a delegation that will meet with Transport Minister Francois Durovray on Monday.
“The idea is to listen to the proposals of civil society actors who represent cyclists with respect, to create a future policy together,” his office told AFP.
– ‘Frightened’ –
Varry died in the affluent eighth arrondissement of Paris after being run over by a driver with whom he had a previous dispute.
The 52-year-old driver of the sport utility vehicle (SUV), whose young daughter was also in the car, was arrested on the spot. He was charged with murder.
Emotions ran high at a Paris rally to honor Varry.
“He dedicated his time to explaining carefully and clearly why more safety for cyclists is needed in road planning”, said Ariel Weil, mayor of the central districts of Paris, who attended the meeting.
After a minute’s silence and long applause, Varry’s mother said she was “shocked” and demanded that the perpetrator be “punished”.
Rallies took place in cities across France after cycling organizations issued calls.
Varry is “like a martyr for us”, said Aude Fouchet, 52, who took part in the rally in the southwestern city of Toulouse.
– ‘Daily Controversies’ –
In Nantes, western France, protester Arthur Desmidt said Varry’s killing was unnecessary.
“We talk about it today, thankfully, but because it was in the middle of Paris. In rural areas, for example, many incidents remain invisible,” said the 29-year-old woman.
Most of the 226 cyclists killed on French roads in 2023 were in rural or urban areas.
“People need to stop looking at the car as an extension of themselves and overdo it in everyday life,” said Barbara Delattre, a high school teacher in Nice.
Many, like Nicole Penot in Strasbourg, criticized the “daily conflicts” on the street, adding that “we need to rethink our way of sharing public space”.
About 150 people gathered in Amiens, northern France, where a cyclist was hit by a garbage truck in January.
Meanwhile, 200 people gathered in Bordeaux, where three cyclists were killed last year and the group Velo-Cite has used the word “cyclicide”.
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