Tens of thousands of bikers marched on Saturday against compulsory technical inspection

Several tens of thousands of motorcyclists protested throughout France on Saturday the implementation of compulsory technical inspections for motorcycles, scooters and quads from Monday, a measure intended to increase safety. In Paris, 10,000 bikers demonstrated calling for a boycott of a measure deemed “unfair” and amounting to “racketeering” according to the French Federation of Angry Bikers, and 7,000 according to the Ministry of the Interior.

From Brest to Strasbourg and from Calais to Perpignan, around sixty motorcycle parades were recorded during the weekend on the FFMC website. For the day of Saturday, the Ministry of the Interior counted 38,000 demonstrators on two wheels throughout France. The organizers did not give a figure, pending demonstrations also planned for Sunday, notably in Marseille. There were between 900 and 1000 in Rennes according to the police, more than 1850 (organizers) in Toulouse and between 1600 (prefecture) and 2000 (organizers) in Bordeaux.

The more than three million category L vehicles, i.e. scooters, motorcycles, tricycles or carts, have until now escaped the controls introduced in 1992 for cars. They will now have to go through 78 checkpoints. Brakes that are too worn, handlebars blurred, leaks, smooth tires: 87 major failures require a second inspection, i.e. returning within the following two months with the repaired vehicle. But the control of noise or vehicle obstruction, often circumvented by scooters, will not be effective until summer 2025.

The first vehicles to pass the test are those registered before January 1, 2017. All these category L vehicles must also pass the test in the event of resale. This measure has already pushed many motorcyclists to resell their machine before the deadline, helping to boost the second-hand market in the first quarter of 2024 (6% over one year), according to insurer Solly Azar.

It took ten years and numerous appeals to enforce this 2014 European directive, already implemented in several countries on the continent. It is supposed to increase safety and reduce pollution. In France, a first decree was issued by the government in 2021 before the President of the Republic Emmanuel Macron buried it, anxious not to “annoy the French”. The government then announced that it would favor “alternative measures” such as awareness campaigns. But he finally had to give in in October 2023 by decision of the Council of State.

The measure remains contested by many bikers in France. The FFMC, which calls on motorcyclists to boycott the technical inspection centers which deal with two-wheelers for their cars, considers the operation expensive and useless, because it is mainly visual. The general delegate of the FFMC, Didier Renoux, insists that accidents are generally not due to the condition of the vehicle, well maintained by the bikers, but rather to the state of the road. “We know that we are fragile, but in the motorcycle license, we are taught to do visual checks, check the hoses, the fluid level, see if the tires are deflated... Why impose something unfair on us and what are we already doing?” Yann Rouvery, member of the FFMC of Gironde, asked AFP on Saturday.

At the same time, 27 deputies from the majority, including the president of the Laws Committee Sacha Houlié, asked the Ministry of Transport for a “moratorium” on this technical control, proposing alternative solutions. No response yet. “Even if I would like to comply, we cannot find any technical inspection center,” assured AFP Sacha Houlié, who himself pilots a Yamaha sports car. “I'm going to do my annual maintenance, like every year. I don’t know any biker who doesn’t do it,” the MP underlined. RN deputies also called for the repeal of control, denouncing “technocratic obstinacy”.

Since the confirmation of the inspection in October 2023, the technical inspection centers have nevertheless gone into overdrive to receive the necessary approval. Not all of France is covered, but almost half of the centers are ready, or 3,000 inspectors, according to the technical inspection federation. In France, all category L vehicles must now be checked every three years. Drivers without up-to-date technical inspections risk a fine of 135 euros or immobilization of the vehicle.