In an atmosphere of contemplation, a few concerts of bicycle bells were heard. This Saturday evening, at 6 p.m., the square in front of Bordeaux town hall was briefly occupied by some 200 people who came on foot and by bike. They responded to the call from the French Federation of Bicycle Users (FUB) asking “cyclists in France to gather for a minute of silence in tribute to Paul Varry”, a 27-year-old cyclist killed on Tuesday October 15 in Paris. A motorist ran over him. The driver was indicted on Friday October 18 for murder.
Gatherings took place in many communes in France; in Gironde, in addition to Bordeaux, the town halls of Talence, Libourne, Gradignan, Bègles, Pessac also served as a rallying point.
In the crowd gathered in the Gironde capital, most of the cyclists had memories of a personal incident experienced on the road. “We cyclists have to pay attention to everything around us, all the time, it seems like the drivers have forgotten the highway code,” says Virginie, 57, who goes to work with a well-equipped bicycle. “We are passed without respecting the distances,” laments a young girl. Once, a car encroached on the bike path and didn’t see me in its blind spot. »
Motorized violence
On Place Pey-Berland, Ludovic Fouché, the president of the Gironde association for the defense of cyclists, Vélo-Cité, had very firm words in his speech: “This is not a news item, it is a murder. We are here for Paul, to pay tribute to him, to say that motorized violence must stop […] There is animosity against cyclists who enjoy a certain freedom compared to motorists. » And to recall the case of Gironde cyclists who died this year in an accident: “Clara crushed by a truck, Julien mowed down by a tired driver. »
Without really knowing each other, cyclists gathered spontaneously in Bordeaux in front of the town hall to pay tribute to Paul Varry.
S. D./SO
Present, Didier Jeanjean, deputy mayor of Bordeaux in charge of peaceful neighborhoods, believes for his part, to “Sud Ouest”, “that we must stop opposing each other. There are no bicycle or car communities, we all take the car, we all cycle. »
“This opposition is harmful,” he adds. We need cycling facilities, everyone must believe that it is necessary. »
