Urban rodeos have multiplied in Haute-Garonne since the confinement period. In Colomiers, exhausted residents have asked the town hall, for the moment without result. The national police are investigating.
“Every Saturday and Sunday afternoon, we undergo the same ritual: the sounds of motorcycles and quads pollute the environment. We can no longer put our noses out,” says Pierre, a resident of the Perget district of Colomiers. In front of his house, constant comings and goings of two wheels. The tires screech, bikers slalom at high speed between passers-by, children, the elderly and families. Some young people, without helmets, even have fun riding on the rear wheel, at the risk of losing control of their motorcycle.
“For the past 5 years, the only pedestrian green area in Colomiers has been taken hostage by these groups of individuals. We can no longer walk without risking our lives,” adds Sylvie, who also lives in the Perget sector. These residents have contacted the town hall on numerous occasions to try to find solutions. “We were directed to the public tranquility service. The problem is that these people do not work after 6 pm. During confinement, these nuisances multiplied and they started precisely from 7 pm …”, notes Pierre, who is thinking of moving if the situation does not change. Contacted, the municipality of this commune ensures that it processes and follows this “dossier” accompanied by the municipal police. Colomiers is obviously not the only city in the department to experience this kind of inconvenience. This month alone, urban rodeos were noted in the Pradettes, Reynerie and Bellefontaine sectors, as well as around La Ramée Lake in Tournefeuille. “It’s unlivable. One day, these drivers will end up killing themselves or someone. And by that time, it will be too late,” observes a stroller accustomed to walking along the La Ramée golf course. These issues are taken very seriously by the national police, which since August 2018, has more power to act. “It has become a crime punished with prison terms of up to 5 years, with compulsory confiscation of motorized vehicles, whether the pilot is its owner or not,” said a spokesman for the Departmental Directorate of Public Security. (DDSP) of Haute-Garonne. These measures should be reinforced if we believe the statement made by the Minister of the Interior, Christophe Castaner, on May 25 (read box). Meanwhile, between January and March 2020, officials conducted 14 operations in the Pink City to combat this scourge. “We will not give in to them. They intimidate the neighborhood, and spoil the daily lives of citizens. This is sowing fear and it is dangerous. We are investigating to find the perpetrator (s) of these nuisances,” warns a Toulouse police officer.
Castaner announces measures
“Interventions for urban rodeo incidents have increased by 15%,” said Christophe Castaner, the interior minister, while adding that 337 infractions were noted during the confinement period. He announced on May 25, the implementation of a new action plan, “even more ambitious, more global against urban rodeos.”
“We have to seize more vehicles, relying more on intelligence and the judicial investigation. Because by confiscating the motorcycles, quads and scooters of the offenders, we deprive them of their capacity to harm and to put themselves in danger”
–
–
