the essential
For seven months, Henri, a resident of Colomiers, has been living a real nightmare. He is persisting in contesting a report issued for a parking failure, which allegedly took place in March in Paris. Problem: the septuagenarian has never been there with his vehicle…
The story begins on March 14, at the home of Henri Galibert in Colomiers. The septuagenarian received a ticket for “illegal parking” of his vehicle seven days earlier. Amount to pay: 50 euros. Reading the report, Henri realizes that the alleged offense was noted at 5, rue Sophie-Germain, in 14e district of Paris. Except it was never parked there.
And for good reason. If Columérin has already lived in the City of Lights in the past, he has never traveled there by car. And certainly not on March 7. “That day, I had proof that I was in Colomiers,” he chants. By consulting his bank account statements, Henri made a withdrawal of money from a bank in the city, and his wife also testifies: “I made purchases in a pharmacy in the city center”. The couple left their home late in the morning, around 11:30 a.m.
However, the fine received by Henri mentions a failure to pay for parking noted at 2:55 p.m. in Paris. It appears impossible to reach the capital from Colomiers, 677 kilometers, in 3 hours 25 minutes by road… In any case, Henri admits: “I would never have gone there with my car to cover such a distance. I would have taken the ‘plane or train’.
Administrative nightmare
Since March 14, Henri Galibert has strived to prove his innocence by all means. After filing a complaint for “license plate theft”, the man continues to contest the facts with which he is accused. The latter, wishing to know the reasons for this fine, even asked to obtain photos of the vehicle detected by the agents. “I haven’t received anything from them,” says Henri Galibert.
In his dismay, he sent a letter to the mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo. In his letter, he requests information on the lack of parking, while asking them to pardon him. No response. “I find this behavior a little light. The boss is always a little responsible,” complains the unhappy motorist.
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His license plate stolen, the retiree was fined even though he was several hundred kilometers from the scene of the offense
Assuring his “good faith”, Henri Galibert promises: “if I had made a driving error, I would have paid”. Furthermore, ironically, a parking meter is placed just in front of the parking spaces located at 5 rue Sophie-Germain in Paris.
Faced with the “feeling of helplessness” he suffers in this affair, Henri regrets that his situation is getting bogged down, and that his fine has not been canceled. “Honestly, I no longer recognize my country,” he laments. Drawing a parallel with the burglary of which he was the victim this summer, Henri does not accept “that burglars come out after a few days from prison, and that I am taken for a delinquent because I did not pay a fine for which I am not responsible. Between all the registered letters with acknowledgment of receipt that he wrote to obtain the cancellation of the fine, Henri admits to having spent “well over 50 euros” and a lot of energy. To be continued…
Radio silence from Paris town hall
In seeking to contest his fine, Henri Galibert wrote to Paris town hall to understand the circumstances of his fine. But the Columérin met with a refusal from the town hall. The letter written to Anne Hidalgo did not give any additional information to Henri, who is surprised by this silence.
To date, Paris town hall has not responded to requests from “La Dépêche du Midi”. Also contacted, the company “Moovia”, responsible for carrying out checks on paid parking zones in the capital, did not respond to our questions.
