“I am counting on us to ensure that this motorized violence disappears.” Around 200 people gathered this Wednesday, October 16 in the evening, at Place de la Madeleine to pay tribute to the cyclist crushed in Paris by a car following a dispute, reports theAgence France Presse (AFP).
Flowers and candles were placed in front of the Madeleine church. The president of the association, Paris en saddle, of which the victim was an “active member”, praised the memory of Paul, aged 27. He “fought for a peaceful city, so that we could cycle safely”declared Anne Monarché, very moved.
The association, created in 2015, said“distraught by his death”, in an X post, published earlier today, inviting a gathering “in his memory”. Two other associations, Better Moving to Bicyclette and the Vélo Île-de-France collective, also joined the call.
“He is no longer here to defend this vision, but we are here to continue and I am counting on you, I am counting on us so that this motorized violence disappears”launched Anne Monarché.
“It’s a shock”
“Like any cyclist, it’s a bit of a shock, we are often attacked in Paris by motorists […] and getting to the point of rolling over someone, we reach a level of indecency, which goes a little beyond the reality of the situation”testified to l’AFP Fanny Lebizay, 31 years old, salesperson.
The accident sparked strong reactions from elected officials in the capital, where soft mobility, in particular bicycles, has taken an increasingly prominent place in recent years. “It is unacceptable to die today in Paris, at the age of 27, while cycling. These acts must be severely condemned”emphasized to theAFP the PS mayor of the capital Anne Hidalgo.
An open investigation
The events took place on Tuesday, October 15, late in the afternoon, on Boulevard Malesherbes (8th arrondissement). The 27-year-old cyclist died on public roads, “after a dispute with the driver of a vehicle”detailed the Paris prosecutor’s office.
Read also: Cyclist killed in Paris after a dispute with a motorist: an investigation opened for murder
The driver, aged 52, was arrested at the scene. His teenage daughter, born in 2007, was in the vehicle, an SUV according to several media.
Witnesses to the scene “ perceived a voluntary attitude of the driver during the movement of the car towards the cyclist »said the prosecution. A murder investigation was entrusted to the 1st judicial police district.
