The death of a cyclist in Paris sparks a public debate about road violence

“Stop motorized violence.” This is the name of a campaign launched by the French Cyclist Federation (FUB) after the death of 27-year-old cyclist Paul Varry. According to initial findings, Varry was intentionally hit by an SUV driver while riding on the bike path in Paris on October 15th. The aim of the campaign is to collect statements from cyclists about similar incidents.

This tragedy has brought the issue of motorized violence to the forefront of the public transport debate, which had previously focused on infrastructure and environmental concerns. Olivier Schneider, co-president of the FUB, whose call for testimonies from cyclists about their experiences of road violence received 818 responses in two days, seemed surprised by the scale of the phenomenon. “We have long advocated measures to limit road insecurity, but have never previously targeted targeted violence,” he said.

Authorities have also begun to understand the scale of the problem, which goes beyond the usual requirement to “share the road.” On October 21, Transport Minister François Durovray met with cyclists’ associations who had been eagerly awaiting a response from him after it took him four days to respond to Varry’s death. He announced a “mission against road violence” that would be assigned to a “qualified” person.

The idea has become a cliché: road-sharing in congested urban areas creates conflict between increasing numbers of cyclists, pedestrians – whose reserved spaces are sometimes sacrificed to cycling projects – and drivers who struggle to accept the loss of their road monopoly . But beyond these frustrations, road safety statistics reveal a harsh reality year after year: cars and their drivers are responsible for the vast majority of fatalities.

Incomplete awareness efforts

According to the French Road Safety Observatory (ONISR), “221 cyclists died in 2023 (…), an increase of +18% compared to 2019.” As for pedestrians, there were 438 deaths in accidents with a third party in 2023, which represents a decrease of 10% compared to 2019. It is noteworthy that when pedestrians or cyclists died in an accident with a third party, in 72% of cases that third party was driving a car or commercial vehicle.

According to a national bicycle transport platform (PNF), this increase in the number of victims is at least partly a consequence of the significant increase in bicycle use, which increased by 20% between 2020 and 2021. This increase was promoted by the government for environmental reasons. Former Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne launched a cycling plan in 2018, when she was transport minister, with a budget of €465 million over four years. When she became prime minister, she expanded the plan, promising €1.25 billion between 2023 and 2028.

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