France: Governor Looking At Forbidding Motorcycles In Mountains On Weekends? from Bikes in the Fast Lane

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France: Governor Looking At Forbidding Motorcycles In Mountains On Weekends?

January
2013

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

It doesn't get any crazier than this. The governor (in French called a Prefet, but appointed, not elected) of the Haut-Rhin

province in France, a beautiful province where the Alps start, is going to put in place a law that will forbid motorcycles from entering the mountain peaks during weekends.

Obviously this will apply during the summer, since the winter is very harsh in the mountain area, and it's the time that many, if not most, local commerce badly needs the motorcycle world. Summer weekends can see many motorcycles heading for a weekend in the mountains (I have been one of them several times), staying in local hotels or B&Bs, eating at local restaurants and even buying souvenirs from local shops.

Col de la Schlucht

But the Prefet seems to be bothered by the endless lines of motorcycles going up and down his mountains, so now he's going to put in place a law that forbids motorcycles from entering the mountains during the weekend. And even if he's not allowed to do so by the French constitution, he'll think up some local ordinance and use his own local police force.

Currently they are looking at closing down not all mountains peaks ("cols"), but "only" the peaks of de la Schlucht, du Louchbach, des Bagenelles, de Bramont, d’Oderen et du Ballon.

Talk about a bias towards motorcycles, and not in a good sense.

Via: FFMC