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Bicycle users are speaking out to denounce road violence. While the Minister of Transport receives cycling associations this Monday, Charles Maguin, founder of Paris en saddle, proposes concrete measures to avoid these tragedies.
Tuesday October 15, Paul, 27, was returning home by bike. In the 8th arrondissement of Paris, a motorist in a hurry took the cycle path and ran over his foot; in shock with fear and indignation, Paul banged on the hood of the vehicle. The 52-year-old driver then turned the steering wheel of his SUV towards Paul and crushed him, according to the press release from the Paris prosecutor’s office. Here, the development of public space is not the subject. Everything suggests that there was an intention to kill, and the motorist was also charged with murder and imprisoned. Is this a terrible but anecdotal news item or are there lessons to be learned from it for society?
This homicide has sparked a freeing of speech among people who travel by bike: testimonies of road violence are pouring in by the hundreds, like a #MeToo of cycling. I discovered on this occasion that my own brother was a survivor of a similar attack, I read countless chilling testimonies on social networks, I myself had my share of trying experiences. If the emotion is so strong, if so many anonymous people identify with Paul, it is because it is far too easy for those who travel by bike to imagine the scene, to relate it to their own daily experiences. .
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