When the Town Hall rides a motorcycle…

Operation "Biker for a day", organized by the French Motorcycling Federation with the Prefecture of Police and the Town Hall, took place this morning in Paris despite gloomy weather. Balance sheet.

After a quick briefing around a coffee and an orange juice, a handful of road officials responsible for the arrangements (coating, signage, lighting, parking …) took their places behind FFM motorcycles and of the motorcycle club of the Paris firefighters, some going up for the first time. Objective: to discover the "points felt as dangerous"by the bikers. Were notably present Catherine Candelier (chief of staff of Denis Beaupin, deputy mayor in charge of transport, absent" for reasons of agenda "), Daniel Laguet (director of roads), Commandant Guimond (coordinator of road safety at the Prefecture of Police), Mr. Le Loc’h, more specifically in charge of signaling, and certain district officials.

The president of the FFM, Jean-Pierre Mougin, also made the trip "to support this very innovative action"Asked about the presence of the FFM on this land traditionally occupied by the French Federation of Angry Bikers (FFMC), he explains that"the FFM has indeed a rather sporting vocation, but it also has a tradition of learning and prevention which fully justifies its presence in this type of action. In addition, by being more active with institutions than in the street, we are closer to real decision-makers than is the FFMC.". Atmosphere … The procession of about twenty motorcycles, flanked by six police motorcyclists, left the headquarters of the Highways around 9:30 am for a tour of dangerous infrastructures."Please note, this is not a list of black points, says Commander Guimond, but many points felt as dangerous. By participating in this operation, the Prefecture would like those responsible for the roads to see for themselves the specificities of two-wheelers. Because the place of the biker is just as important as that of the pedestrian or the motorist !"

Others, however, admit more radical concerns, such as Catherine Candelier who wants "share the roads better by reducing the space given to the car", or more naive, like Daniel Laguet who wishes"discover the vision of the average biker traveling in Paris". Alerted to the fact that few" average bikers "move in groups of 20 under police escort, Mr. Laguet then invokes necessary security reasons. Safety of motorized two-wheelers? After having traveled the docks, the Marshals and the northern ring road, "bikers for a day", dressed in an FFM jacket "Your city is not a circuit", took the Place de l’Etoile before going down the Champs-Elysees, then joined the Hôtel de Ville after a detour through the Jardin du Luxembourg. They were thus able to discover, among other things, the"offset of the Pont d’Arcole lights", the "Slippery pedestrian crossing of Quai de la Rapee"and the"rutted road on the Champs-Elysees". Slippery, the most beautiful avenue in the world ?

Eric MICHEL

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