The demonstration took place on the Place de la République, this Saturday, October 19, a few days after the death of Paul Varry, crushed by an SUV.
Several hundred people demonstrated in Paris this Saturday, October 19, to demand an end to “motorized violence” and to demand measures to pacify cohabitation between cyclists and motorists. This demonstration comes just days after the death of 27-year-old cyclist Paul Varry in the capital.
The participants, many of whom came by bike, gathered at Place de la République, in the center of Paris, under the slogans “less speed, more tenderness”, “walk or cycle, for peaceful streets”, “stop violence”. motorized vehicles”, or even “police officers, don’t let us down”.
“At some point, you have to calm down. The road belongs to no one and everyone,” Véronique told Agence France-Presse (AFP). “It could have been me, a car is a weapon,” says this thirty-year-old, who travels around Paris every day on an electric bike for her concierge business, La fille à vélo.
“Motorized violence kills”
“Motorized violence kills. We want the public authorities to really take up the subject,” demanded Anne Monmarché, president of Paris en Selle, an association which campaigns to improve cycling conditions and claims a thousand members. “We must protect the most vulnerable. Paul is no longer there, but we are here,” she added at the end of her speech, very moved.
She will be part of a delegation which will be received Monday afternoon by the Minister of Transport, François Durovray.
“The idea is to listen to the proposals of the associative actors representing cyclists with respect, in order to co-construct future policies together,” his office told AFP.
226 deaths in 2023
Paul Varry, 27, an active member of the Paris en Selle association, died on the public highway on Tuesday, run over by a motorist with whom he had just had a dispute, on Boulevard Malesherbes, in the 8th arrondissement of Paris. The driver, a 52-year-old technical salesman, was indicted for murder and imprisoned.
The demonstrators in Paris respected a minute of silence at 5:45 p.m., the time when the drama unfolded, followed by a very long round of applause.
Gatherings were planned at the same time in front of the town halls of many other cities in France, at the call of Paris en Selle, the French Federation of Bicycle Users (FUB) and the association Better Travel by Bicycle.
In 2023, 226 cyclists died on the roads of France, exceeding the threshold of 200 deaths for the third year in a row.