DIJON: Anti-rodeo operations intensify
Following the directions taken by the Minister of the Interior Gérald Darmanin, the police are stepping up control operations in order to fight against urban rodeos. This is the case in Dijon.
Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin wants 10,000 anti-rodeo operations to be authorized throughout France this summer, both in the Police and Gendarmerie zones.
“It’s about dealing a blow to troublemakers who are delinquents. The road is not a playground and these deviant behaviors are intolerable in the Republic and contrary to respect for others, in our plural and diversified Republic”, underlined the Secretary General of the prefecture of Côte-d’Or, Frédéric Carré, prior to such an operation at Les Grésilles on Thursday August 11, 2022.
The representative of the State deplores and firmly condemns the accident which occurred in Pontoise in the Paris region on August 5, which endangered the lives of two children “because of an 18-year-old individual, unconscious, irresponsible, dangerous, who has violated the minimum rules of respect for the highway code”.
One anti-rodeo operation per day in the Police zone in the Dijon region
In the Police zone, “since the beginning of May, more than forty anti-rodeo operations have been expected and we are moving to one operation per day in Dijon and the other municipalities in our area, with also operations in the district of Beaune”, announced Christophe Pernette-Tixier, deputy departmental director of public security for the Côte-d’Or.
The fight against rodeos can be guided by scouting via video surveillance, reports or petitions from residents, or observations by teams during security rounds.
For the police commissioner, “these are people who want to show off and impress the ladies”. The offense is qualified as a rodeo when the following three reasons are proven: the use of a motorized land vehicle, the repetition of the offense, the endangerment of the safety of the users or the fact that the behavior undermines public tranquility. Wheeling is also one of the rodeo criteria.
Engage without collateral damage
While the British police use “tactical contact” to succeed in forcing recalcitrant rodeo perpetrators to stop during chases, “this is absolutely not planned in France”, replied Christophe Pernette-Tixier. By insisting: “The police and gendarmes in France also have respect for the offender. The objective is to limit the risks in relation to serious offences. We always ensure a balance. We first try to carry out the arrest in a very short time to avoid collateral damage, but we avoid causing a drama ”.
In the event of proven rodeo and arrest, in addition to “the fine of 1,500 euros and the penalty of up to one year in prison for the sole participation in the act, or even up to three years in prison according to the facts”, the police on the possibility of confiscating the vehicle.
It is also the interest to visit the common areas of certain buildings, where “often stolen vehicles” can be hidden. This is a plus during operations on which “it is difficult to catch the perpetrators in the act” conceded the general commissioner.
Boulevard Champollion Thursday at the end of the day, about twenty police officers were mobilized to check the papers of cars and two-wheelers (gray card, registration, technical control) as well as the use of these in the rules.
According to the police, “no serious accident” occurred because of an urban rodeo this summer in Dijon.
Alix Berthier
Photos: Alix Berthier