The prefecture issued an order to this effect this week because of the “significant disturbances” caused by these demonstrations.

No tuning or runing in several areas of Pas-de-Calais on weekends this summer. The prefecture issued an order this week to ban these gatherings of tuned cars for the nine weekends of the summer period in July and August.

The districts of Béthune and Lens concerned

The ban issued by the prefect targets places regularly reported by fans of these wild races, from this weekend, from Friday evening to Monday morning.

The Pas-de-Calais prefecture had already renewed a decree prohibiting tuning gatherings for a period of one month, every weekend in June.

“All of the car parks in the Cora Lens 2 commercial areas in Vendin-le Vieil, the car parks in the Intermarché commercial area in Carvin, the car parks in the Maison Plus commercial area in Hénin-Beaumont, the Bollaert-Delelis stadium car park in Lens, the Portes du Nord industrial zone in Libercourt and rue Blaise Pascal in Libercourt”, detailed the prefecture for the Lens sector.

In the district of Béthune, the ban covers avenue de Londres in Douvrin, avenue de Sofya in Billy-Berclau, rue de la Rotonde in Béthune, rue de la Paix in Noyelles-lès-Vermelles and even the North, East, South and West boulevards of the communes of Douvrin and Billy-Berclau.

Dangerous Gatherings

The prefecture justifies its decision by recalling that announcements for the organizer of new demonstrations in Lens have already been issued on social networks. In Béthune, a tuning gathering was recently organized on rue de la Rotonde.

These undeclared gatherings most often take place at the end of the week and are never secured by the organizers, despite the large number of participants, as denounced by the prefecture in its decree.

“These gatherings also give rise to major disturbances to public order: drifts (slips), burnout (acceleration on the spot to heat up the tires) risky for spectators, speed races on the roads with great excesses of ‘speeding’.

Participants risk up to six months in prison and a fine of €7,500. During a previous ban on these events in June 2021, around 100 vehicles were fined.

During a wild race on September 11 in Libercourt, a 22-year-old driver lost control of his car and hit the crowd, blessing six people, three of them seriously. One of the injured later died as a result of the collision.