to escape fines, these motorists cover their license plates

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A simple cloth or a piece of tape is enough to slip through the cracks. In recent years, this practice has spread among drivers of two-wheelers, trucks and cars who thus escape at parking controls in Paris. Automated license plate reading (LAPI), introduced in the capital since 2018, has limits.

“The legislative texts were written before the LAPI system,” warns Me Sébastien Dufour, specialist in automobile law. On TikTok, this lawyer at the Paris bar denounces in particular the excesses of this mode of control.

Automation of control

In Paris, cars equipped with cameras to monitor parking cannot detect hidden plates. And if the agent behind the wheel notices this, he is not authorized to let go of the wheel to remove the element disrupting control.

The whole problem comes from the automation of this verbalization system. Before, with periwinkles, these problems did not exist.

Parking enforcement has been privatized for six years. Previously, municipal agents called “ASVP” roamed the streets to impose fines. Automating the mission allowed the City to increase the efficiency of audits. In 2010, around 200,000 fines were issued in Paris compared to 3 million fines in 2020.

Interpretation of the law

For the Parisian lawyer, the flaw also lies in the interpretation of the legal text which reads “as we wish”. According to the Highway Code, it is prohibited to drive without a license plate, by hiding it or with false information. However, no text raises the question for parked vehicles.

Although the law may evolve on the subject, Me Sébastien Dufour recalls that between theory and practice, the reality of the facts may present new limits. “If we can fine parked cars, we can also 'annoy' others, by putting tape on their number plate so that they get a fine,” illustrates the lawyer.

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