The video lasts fewer than 30 seconds, but has made the rounds on social networks. In Paris on Sunday 11 June, French Green MP Sandrine Rousseau did not hesitate to intervene in a scuffle between a cyclist and a cab driver on her way to the market.
These quarrels have become far too frequent in the French capital, where the number of bike journeys has increased by 79% between 2019 and 2022. The number of cycle paths has also boomed, but not at the same rate, and many drivers still have trouble sharing the road with cyclists, who sometimes risk their lives on the streets. The number of cyclists involved in accidents reached 1,611 in 2022, compared with 676 three years earlier.
In a couple of months, Paris’s roads should be less overcrowded. In a local referendum in early April, inhabitants voted in favour of banning self-service scooters, which Parisians have heavily criticized since their introduction in 2018.