After lowering the speed on several roads in the capital, decided in August 2021, the number of fines exploded. Car defenders in Paris denounce “a nameless scam”.
Since August 2021, part of the capital’s roads have become limited to 30km/h. Result: the number of fines jumped. For example, on rue Maubeuge, in the 9th arrondissement, the number of tickets distributed increased from 13 tickets in September 2020 to 1,821 in September 2021. Over the whole of 2019, there were 279 tickets while in 2022, 19,537 were distributed.
Same observation on the radar reading located on Quai Saint-Bernard, in the 5th arrondissement of Paris: 399 fines were recorded in September 2020 compared to 8,826 in September 2021. Another edifying example on avenue Daumesnil, in the 12th arrondissement: radars flashed 3,300 vehicles in 2019 then 74,554 in 2023.
These figures were revealed by the specialized site Caradisiac, after a court decision forcing the Ministry of the Interior to publish the number of fines.
“A scam without a name”
For car defenders in Paris, like Pierre Chasseray, general delegate of the “40 million motorists” association, “it’s a nameless scam”. Pierre Chasseray also assures that chicanes or speed bumps would be enough to limit the speed of cars to 30km/h.
On the other hand, on the opposition side, activists believe that the measure does not go far enough and that there are still not enough controls in the areas concerned. In this sense, the president of the “Dans ma rue” association wants the city of Paris to ask the prefecture to add radars. For the moment, the town hall has not taken a position.
Loïc Gazar with Chloé Semat
