He is one of the members of the Toulouse “cyclosphere”, on the social network Twitter.

With a dozen other cyclists, united in the group of “Mollets Cassoulets”, Clément tries to challenge road users, and elected officials of Toulouse and the metropolis. State of the road, behavior, absence of a secure track, obstacles … everything goes.

April 2021, Clément is struck by a motorist on the Grand Rond

In April, he was struck by a motorist on the Grand Rond, and created a “buzz” on the networks. “Since then, I no longer use this roundabout, it is horrible”. Bwe parked, blind spots, barely legible signage … Clément alerted the town hall, without success.

On his “biclou” decorated with the sticker of “Mollets cassoulets”, and cycling groups from all over France, Clément moves to his engineering school, or his place of work alternately, camera hung on the helmet.

Hundreds of cyclists and pedestrians along the canal, 2.50 m wide, and right next to it, two lanes for cars

Between Saint-Aubin and Rangueil, on the greenway of the Canal du Midi, it crosses every morning between 200 and 300 cyclists minimum, over the 3 km route. There are so many people on this 2.50 m wide strip, pedestrians and cyclists, that traffic is sometimes difficult.

Right next to it, the two lanes where motorists pass, and where hundreds of cars are parked. “It messes things up a bit, it shows the still enormous space left for the car”.

Chemin de la Loge, near Ile du Ramier, 1.1 km of terror on a very narrow road

Giving more space to the bike is the meaning of Clément’s fight. Portable camera coded with the helmet, he films his journeys, and posts extracts on social. He does not hesitate to pinpoint dangerous cycling behavior.

True “black spot” on the route of Clément, the path of the Lodge. On the kilometer of this route, which connects the Ile du Ramier to the Route d’Espagne, the cyclist experiences great moments of solitude. “It’s super tight. There is a lane for cars, and a reverse cycle lane, that’s all. ”

Either Clément squeezes to the right, and he is brushed against by cars traveling at 50 or 60 km / h, or he stands in the middle of the road, to push the cars to slow down, before shifting to let them pass . “It’s complicated, I often get blows of the horn, even insults”.

But the young man prefers insults, because he refuse to ride in the “terror” of being hit from behind …

The cyclist tries to establish a dialogue with the motorists

As often as, he undertakes dialogue with motorists and scooters, who cannot cycle paths. Recently, he filmed a scooter engaged on the greenway of the canal. “It was tense, but after five minutes he understood my position.”

The more he rides, the more Clément understands that “the place of the bicycle will only be the one that politicians want to give it.”

“In Toulouse, things are progressing a bit. But really too slowly for my taste ”. Clément gives the example of Paris, where the rue de Rivoli or the bank lanes have been returned to pedestrians and cyclists.

“There are projects, but the place of cycling is progressing too slowly in Toulouse”

“In Toulouse, there are projects, the Réseau Express Vélo, the rue de Metz, the Grand-rue Saint-Michel. That’s good, but we have to go faster.”

To reduce conflicts between users, it will still be necessary to give space to soft modes, believes the cyclist. “And not just cycle lanes, real secure lanes isolated from traffic. This is the price at which the part of the bicycle can really take off, “for the benefit of all”.