A motorist accused of deliberately driving a cyclist in a Paris road rage incident has been formally investigated and remanded in custody.
The 52-year-old driver of the SUV, identified as Ariel M, is accused of deliberately targeting the cyclist. Paris public prosecutor’s office Paul Varry, 27.
The driver was produced before a trial magistrate on Friday morning after 48 hours in custody and charged with “culpable homicide”.
The incident happened at 5.45pm on Tuesday on Boulevard Malesherbes in the 8th arrondissement of Paris. The driver’s teenage daughter was in the car at the time.
The prosecutor’s office said the victim was on his way back from work on Wednesday when he tried to cross traffic, drove 200m onto the cycle path and ran into Varry’s leg.
It said Varry “bumped into the bonnet and alerted the driver, who initially recoiled to release his foot”.
“He (Vary) dropped his bike and moved to the left in front of the car to show his displeasure. The driver then turned his wheels towards the pedestrian and proceeded forward in his direction,” it added.
A post-mortem examination of the cyclist confirmed that he had been hit by a vehicle. According to French news, the driver of the SUV told police that the “clumsy movement” led to the cyclist’s death.
Jeanne d’Hauteserre, the mayor of the 8th arrondissement, described the incident as “extraordinary violence” and said that when she arrived at the scene moments later, witnesses were “still on the pavement in shock”.
Anne Hidalgo, the Socialist mayor of Paris, who led a successful plan to drastically reduce car traffic and increase cycling in the capital, said: “It is unacceptable in this day and age for someone to die on a bicycle in Paris.”
Ian Brossaud, a former Paris councilor and now a senator representing the French Communist Party, called for SUVs to be banned in Paris. “This is not the first such incident and the dangerous nature of SUVs has already been pointed out on several occasions. We owe it to this young man to realize the scale of the problem and draw all the consequences,” Brossat told Nouvel Obs.
The Paris City Council has made Paris one of the most bike-friendly cities in the world by opening hundreds of kilometers of new cycle paths in recent years. However, many motorists are opposed to these changes, which have seriously reduced the space for cars on many routes. In an effort to curb private car use and vehicular pollution, many areas of the city have increased pedestrian and parking fees.
