BFMTV was able to obtain confirmation of five refusals to comply, between Thursday September 12, 5:40 p.m. and Friday September 13, 4:25 a.m.
According to figures from the Ministry of the Interior, they fell between 2016 and 2023, but in recent weeks, several refusals to comply have been recorded by the police throughout France.
While some do not result in road tragedies, others can be fatal. On August 26, Warrant Officer Eric Comyn was killed by a reckless driver who refused to comply with a simple road check in Mougins (Alpes-Maritimes).
Even more recently, a man who was delivering meals to homes was fatally hit by a motorist while being chased by the police in Rosny-sous-Bois (Seine-Saint-Denis) on the night of Thursday 12 to Friday 13 September.
BFMTV has learned from police sources that five other refusals to comply in Île-de-France were committed between Thursday, September 12, 5:40 p.m. and Friday, September 13, 4:25 a.m.
• A municipal police officer hit between Nanterre and Aubervilliers
The first reported incident took place between Nanterre (Hauts-de-Seine) and Aubervilliers (Seine-Saint-Denis), between 5:40 p.m. and 6:15 p.m., this Thursday, September 12. A 22-year-old man was about to sell his scooter to a buyer in the parking lot of a shopping center in Nanterre. But the transaction did not go as planned.
The buyer wanted to try out the two-wheeler before buying it and drove a few metres before fleeing towards the A86 motorway. The victim immediately alerted the police and gave the route taken by his scooter, which was equipped with a GPS tracker.
Spotted by a crew of the municipal police, the thief tries to escape them while he is on rue Charles Tillon in Aubervilliers. He deliberately hits a municipal police officer, then abandons the stolen vehicle to finish his journey on foot.
After a few meters, he was arrested in possession of the keys and the documents for the scooter. A second suspect was arrested shortly after near the scene of the incident. The officer who was hit was not injured. Both people were taken into custody.
• Four men arrested in Colombes
A few hours later, around 7:40 p.m., on Rue de Sartrouville in Colombes (Hauts-de-Seine), police officers from the security and intervention company (CSI) spotted four men behaving suspiciously. They were driving a Citroën Picasso.
The officers signaled them to stop, but the driver accelerated and forced his way through. A few minutes later, the Citroën Picasso was stuck in the flow of traffic.
The driver then fled on foot while his three accomplices were arrested. He was finally caught before being taken into custody.
• A chase between Paris and Val-de-Marne
Another incident occurred at the Gare d’Austerlitz, in the 13th arrondissement, at around 10:50 p.m., near the lanes reserved for drop-off.
A stranger threatens a driver with a screwdriver while he is waiting for a family member. The driver is hit by his attacker, before being pulled out of the passenger compartment of his vehicle. The thief then hits the safety barrier to escape.
The police are quickly alerted and a chase begins between Paris and Champigny-sur-Marne (Val-de-Marne). The thief takes all the risks to escape his pursuers before finding himself stuck in a dead-end street.
The 23-year-old driver, unknown to the police, was arrested and taken into custody at the 13th arrondissement police station.
• A man, positive for alcohol and drugs, arrested
At around 11:20 p.m., police officers from the Orly anti-crime squad (BAC) (Val-de-Marne) attempted to stop two men on a scooter. The two offenders had just crossed a red light on rue Christophe Colomb.
Upon seeing the officials, the pilot immediately fled before falling, without serious consequences, onto the public highway a few metres further on.
On him, the police found a few grams of cannabis resin. The driver also tested positive for alcohol and narcotics and does not have a driving license. He was arrested and taken to the Choisy-le-Roi police station for questioning.
• Two men arrested after refusing to comply on the ring road
Finally, on the night of September 12 to 13, at around 4:30 in the morning, officers from the night anti-crime squad spotted a car driving at high speed on the Paris ring road, between the Porte d’Asnières and Porte de Champerret.
Despite the police’s orders, the driver did not stop and continued on his way before exiting the ring road at Porte Maillot.
He was finally caught in a street in Neuilly-sur-Seine (Hauts-de-Seine). He was taken into police custody, along with his passenger.
Stéphane Sellami and Martin Regley
