The No SUV Tolosa collective, a group of environmental activists, deflated sixty-five SUV tires on the night of October 19 to 20, 2024, in Toulouse. Their action took place a few hours after the tributes paid throughout France to Paul Varry, a 27-year-old cyclist run over by a motorist in Paris on October 16.
According to Toulouse News the chic Côte Pavée district was notably targeted. Press releases were slipped on the windshields of the motorists concerned on which it was written: ” Attention ! Your SUV is killer. »
“Climate bombs” and the “enemies” of traffic
In an email sent to the media, the collective justifies its action to denounce SUVs which are “climate bombs” et “the enemies of pedestrians, cyclists and other motorists: much wider and heavier than a city car, accidents involving SUVs are much more fatal”.
The collective believes that European cities were not designed to accommodate such large vehicles, and that “yet they swarm there, making traffic unpleasant for everyone.”
Before continuing: “The majority of SUV owners have no use for them: they live in cities, don’t frequently drive on rough terrain and are not wheelchair users. » For them, buying an SUV is only a question of status and masculinist posture. “A big car proves that you have money and that you’re a real guy — or at least someone important. »
The SUV is a sign of a masculinist posture
According to this collective, it is “this masculinist posture” is what killed Paul Varry. They point the finger at an SUV driver, “touched in his ego, unable to manage his emotions, preferring to run over a cyclist and traumatize his own daughter present in the vehicle, rather than listening to the cyclist’s criticisms and questioning himself”.
Their goal is to dissuade the general public from purchasing SUVs by “interposing and disarming the Toulouse SUVs, again and again”. The collective invites SUV owners to go “follow therapy to work on their self-esteem and manage their emotions”.
Belgium
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