France: Despite Rescinded Law, Mayor Of Paris Wants Motorcycle Technical Tests from Bikes in the Fast Lane

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France: Despite Rescinded Law, Mayor Of Paris Wants Motorcycle Technical Tests

February
2013

  File under France
  Author: Mike Werner
  Location: Normandy, France

Last year the French (and many other European countries) were under the menace of having to undergo annual technical inspections (MOT) on their motorcycles, something the European motorcycle associations and lobby groups had been fighting against. After numerous protest rides and heavy lobbying, the proposed law got canned. So no annual technical inspections of motorcycles.....

But now the motorcycle-phobic mayor of Paris, Bernard Delanoe, wants to get the French government to bring in the annual inspection law anyway. The mayor is becoming very unpopular in Paris, since his actions are always against private transportation in general, and motorcycles in particular. He has last month closed down one of the busiest express ways (Rive Gauche) for all traffic and made it a pedestrian area, he's bringing down the speed of the Parisian ringroad (Boulevard Périphérique

Open Boulevard Périphérique in a new window

) from 80 to 70 kph and he's outlawing all motorcycles that are 10 years old or older from the inner city.

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And now he wants the French government (the current government is from the same political party) to bring back the rescinded annual technical inspection law, despite the European Commission ruling against it. According to him, it's to reduce pollution in the city of lights (he has already outlawed open fireplaces in apartments and lights in buildings after 1 AM).

Nothing is too crazy for the mayor. He wants everyone to use the public transportation system, and it doesn't matter if the metro and tramways are breaking down or more likely on strike. You've got to leave your motorcycle at home and ride the metro. If not... go and live and work elsewhere.

Well, it was already one of the main reasons I moved out of Paris years ago, and now live in Normandy with no traffic jams, no public transportation strikes, and the ability to ride my motorcycle in between the cows. But unfortunately many do not have that luxury.

So maybe it's time for another election in Paris, or a revolution, and bring his head to the chopping block. I can not see him succeed in this endeavor, but he's trying anyway.

Via: Moto-Net