The Paris town hall wants to see a ban on the circulation of SUVs due to the “dangerousness” of this type of vehicle, this Friday, November 22. The Council of Paris thus challenged the government.
The Paris Council “challenged” the government this Friday, November 22, to ban the circulation of SUVs in the city, given the “dangerousness” of these heavy vehicles, after the death in October in Paris of a crushed cyclist by an SUV driver.
The socialist town hall also asks the government to ban “all advertising and marketing operations promoting heavy and bulky SUV-type vehicles”, in a wish adopted by the Paris Council chaired by Anne Hidalgo.
“The seriousness of road violence”
Tuesday, at the opening of the debates, Parisian elected officials observed a minute of silence in tribute to Paul Varry, a 27-year-old cyclist killed on October 15 by an SUV driver on a cycle path.
“This event highlighted the extent of road violence in Paris,” said Senator Ian Brossat, co-president of the communist group in the Council of Paris, who has just tabled a bill in the Senate to allow local elected officials to ban heavy vehicles (1.8 tonnes and more) in town.
In its wish, the municipal executive points out “the seriousness of the road violence which occurs every day in the capital”, where “53.5% of trips are made on foot, 30% by public transport, 11.2% by bicycle and 4.3% by car.
“More often fatal”
Accidents involving an SUV “are statistically more often fatal for the vulnerable users they hit”, according to the 2023 road safety report which is based on data from a study, still in progress, carried out by the Center for studies and expertise on risks (Cerema).
A few days after the death of Paul Varry, the Ministry of Transport set up a four-month mission entitled “against violence, protect all road users”.
The Paris Council, for its part, requests that a “round table”, with the police headquarters, look more specifically at a plan to combat “motorized violence”.
