The events occurred last Tuesday, shortly before 6:00 p.m. According to the prosecution, the driver of the vehicle traveled on the bike lane for more than 200 meters and ran over the foot of a 27-year-old cyclist, Paul Varry. According to the testimonies collected and the information from the security cameras, the investigators have reported that the young man hit the hood of the car to warn the driver and that he turned back to free his foot.
Paul Varry then left his bicycle and stood in front, somewhat to the left of the car, expressing his anger and asking for explanations. That’s when the driver, a 52-year-old man, who was accompanied by his 17-year-old daughter, turned the vehicle in his direction and hit him.
According to information provided by Agence France-Presse and later confirmed by the authorities, last Friday charges were brought against the driver for the crime of murder and he was placed in provisional detention. “My client cannot explain what happened, which appears to be an error in a maneuver or a loss of control of the vehicle, in the midst of the stress and anxiety of a conflictive situation from which he was trying to get out,” said his lawyer, Franck Cohen. in statements to the same agency a few days ago.
The alcohol and drug tests carried out on the driver were negative, although a few days ago the newspaper The Figaro published the testimony of a person who claimed to have noticed the vehicle because of its aggressive driving before the accident. According to police sources cited by Le Parisianthe driver, who worked as a salesperson in a company in the Paris region, had a history of fraud, violence and threats.
Victim of “road violence”
The drama that occurred in the heart of Paris has provoked reactions from municipal politicians and cycling associations. “It is unacceptable that today someone can die at the age of 27 in Paris for riding a bicycle. These acts have to be severely punished,” Mayor Anne Hidalgo reacted in statements to AFP.
The Councilor for Transformation of Public Space and Mobility, David Belliard, went further stating that Paul Varry was a new victim of “road violence”. “The car can drive you crazy. Kill. Cyclists and pedestrians are the first victims.”
Since her election in 2014, the mayor has advocated the promotion of cycling and has made this means of transport one of her main axes in mobility policy. Thus, in the last decade more than 500 kilometers of cycle paths have been opened in the French capital, where the bicycle has surpassed the car in number of users. A strategy that was joined by the Government of the then Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne, which announced a 6 billion euro plan in the summer of 2023.
Specifically, the victim was very active in promoting bicycles in urban spaces and in other activities to support sustainable mobility, as explained by the Paris en selle association, with which he collaborated. Originally from the city of Saint-Ouen, a municipality bordering the capital, “he had participated in the drafting of the white paper for pedestrians and cyclists that had inspired public action in the city,” as explained by the Saint-Ouen City Council itself. Ouen in a statement.
Concentrations in several cities
The fatal accident crystallizes the fears of many of the people who commute by bicycle in the French capital every day. Cyclists denounce the “dangerous impunity” of some motorists and the associations point out that to the risk of being involved in an accident with a car – in which the cyclist is much more exposed to damage – is added the fear of the vehicle being used as a weapon in case of an altercation.
The day after the accident, there was a first concentration of hundreds of people near the scene of the incident. On Saturday, the Fédération française des usagers de la bicyclette (FUB) and the association Mieux se déplacer à bicyclette called for demonstrations in Paris and other large French cities, such as Nice and Nantes, which were attended by several thousand people.
In the capital alone, there were more than a thousand, according to the prefecture, who gathered in the Plaza de la República to demand an end to what they call “motorized violence.” Paul Varry’s mother was also present, calling for punishment for her son’s alleged murderer.
The associations are collecting testimonies on social networks (they had achieved several hundred in a few days) and emphasize that the vast majority of cases of infractions and attacks are committed by men. Furthermore, they complain that complaints of recklessness or aggression most of the time do not lead to trials or sanctions because, in their opinion, they have been socially accepted.
“The violence of Paul’s murder is unprecedented,” the association Mieux se déplacer à bicyclette stated a few days ago in a statement. “But this violence is not an isolated act. This tragedy affects many of us. We all suffer from this type of motorized violence when we ride a bicycle: refusal to give way, speeding, intimidation and even aggression are part of our daily lives. “This violence is largely trivialized and tolerated by public authorities.”
That is why they ask that reckless behavior be systematically investigated and attempted to be punished, even if there are no injuries, something that does not happen today. Nowadays, even if reckless behavior is documented with videos or testimonies, injuries are necessary for authorities to take action.
Not only in cities
The groups also point out that the difficulties in coexistence between cyclists, pedestrians and motorized vehicles are not exclusive to a large city like Paris. And they remember that the majority of fatal bicycle accidents – in France there are more than 200 each year – occur on non-urban roads.
The death of Paul Varry has also generated a wide debate these days in the French media, which believe that it is representative of problems such as the general increase in incivility on public roads, aggressiveness behind the wheel, lack of knowledge of road safety, the growing individualism of society or the excessive size of SUV vehicles (which the Paris City Council has already considered regulating).
In this sense, after the accident, the communist senator Ian Brossat (former councilor in Paris) stressed the need for greater regulation of the use of this type of vehicle in urban space. “For several years, experts and road safety associations have been warning of the increased risks associated with the use of these huge vehicles, originally designed for off-road use. In urban environments, its presence represents a danger to pedestrians, cyclists and even other drivers,” he declared.
As a result of what happened in the last week, representatives of several organizations promoting and defending bicycle mobility were received on Monday afternoon by the new Minister of Transport, François Durovray, who promised in a message to “act for their safety.” ”. “Cyclists have their place on the road,” he said.
At the end of said meeting, the ministry advertisement the formation of a working group that must present proposals on road safety education and the legal response to violent behavior on the road in the coming months.
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