doLike other news, what happened on Tuesday, October 15 in the Madeleine neighborhood of Paris says a lot about the state of our society. Paul Varry, a 27-year-old cyclist, died late in the afternoon, crushed by a car after an altercation with the driver of the vehicle.
That the victim is a community activist committed to the use of bicycles, that the author, 52 years old, was behind the wheel of a truck and that, according to the Prosecutor’s Office, “turned its wheels towards” of the young man “and continued moving in his direction”transforms an already rare fatal event (of 226 cyclists who died in accidents in 2023, one died in Paris) into a social issue. That the Minister of Transport has not shown the slightest emotion after this tragedy also takes on political significance.
At first glance, it is a very “Parisian” story, which transforms into tragedy one of the many disputes with motor vehicles waged by cyclists, increasingly numerous in large cities, but also in campaigns since the epidemic. of Covid-19. Hence the intensity of the emotion aroused.
However, it would be a mistake to see Paul Varry’s death as just an unfortunate consequence of the tensions caused by the trivialization of cycling in the capital. On the one hand, since it was most likely not an accident, the motorist was charged with “murder.” On the other hand, because the majority of fatal accidents for cyclists occur on rural roads, where altercations between cyclists and motorists with dangerous behavior also occur, comparable to that of Tuesday in Paris.
Automotive assault
Certainly, the drama tends to illustrate the difficulties of coexistence and mobility in a society marked by the increase of individualism and incivility. It is framed in a positive context of drastic reduction in the number of cars that requires changes in the behavior of all users. While the ideal of “soft mobility” clashes with the often anarchic behavior of bicycle users, the clichés of virility, speed and efficiency conveyed by automobile advertising clash with urban reality. It’s up to everyone to manage their frustrations.
But he road rageRoad rage, a phenomenon long identified by Americans, remains ignored in France, a country where 32% of motorists nevertheless admit that they sometimes crash into vehicles whose drivers annoy them. We must move away from denialism regarding automobile aggression and tolerance towards road violence; let us remember that 84% of those allegedly responsible for fatal accidents are men. Testimonies abound of situations of danger to the lives of other people, documented in videos but neglected by the police.
The responses to these abuses involve the repression of crimes, but also through information and education, which today are deficient. For cyclists to learn the basic rules of cycling; Motorists must respect bicycle users. It is everyone’s responsibility to practice basic pedestrian courtesy. Everyone should know, when it comes to getting behind the wheel, that a cyclist, who weighs thirty times less than an SUV, has no chance against him. Paul Varry was a victim of the law of the strongest. It cannot prevail.
