Still in shock, after a news item which terrified Parisians, Tuesday October 15, 2024Marion Rousse spoke. A former cycling champion, she is now director of the Tour de France Femmes and a consultant on France Télévisions.
And in the columns of Parisianthe 33-year-old young woman decided that it was time for a start. She discussed with our colleagues the “difficulty of coexistence between drivers and cyclists” that she has been living for years.
Marion Rousse denounces a murder
She, but also her husband, Julian Alaphilippe, and perhaps even one day her three-year-old son, Nino, if nothing is done. For Marion Rousse, what happened to Paul Varry is not “nothing less“only one”murder“since we have “rolled over it consciously“. As a reminder, in this case, the driver of the car has been in pre-trial detention since October 18, 2024 and indicted for “intentional homicide”.
Marion Rousse believes that the problem is broader than this terrifying story. She wants education work to be done among all drivers, to change mentalities. And this, directly in driving schools, so that France becomes a “bicycle country” like the Netherlands or Belgium, she says, where drivers really do “watch out for cyclists“.
Because, she said, “we really need to educate new drivers about how cyclists ride (sic)”. “The road is now in co-ownership” she insists. Marion Rousse mentions in particular: “The rights they have at certain red lights for example“. If she wants more “civility” towards the most vulnerableshe denies falling into caricature “good cyclists against bad motorists”.
His pro-cyclist position
From her own experience, Marion Rousse admits that she is afraid every day, when she rides her bike. She has already had drivers brush past her, without keeping a distance of five feet when overtaking her. And this, just for fun, she denounces.
Regarding bicycle liabilityMarion Rousse is much shorter. She states that they must “simply respect the Highway Code” and admits that this “is not always the case”.
Finally, she nevertheless adds another layer to defend cyclists: “But I insist, in the event of an impact, it is the cyclist who risks the most. Even if he is at fault. We must always remember this”.
