Toulouse. Follower of rodeos, he testifies: “We are just enthusiasts who live for mechanics”
By Leo Couffin
Published on
Christophe Grondin lives in the Gers. Friday, August 12, 2022he took to the road aboard his volkswagen golf 5 towards the road from Spain to Toulouse to make urban rodeo a couple of hours.
The evening did not go as he had hoped. Between 12:30 a.m. and 1 a.m., The police intervene on the scene and seize his car. Indeed, this illegal practice, increasingly singled out, is punishable by law.
He testified toToulouse news how he sees this practice singled out at the national level after several deaths and which he presents as his “passion”.
Death of a 19-year-old on the handlebars of his motorcycle in Marseille. Murder of a 27-year-old man in Colmar. Two young children seriously injured, hit by a motorcycle in Pontoise. Violent news items related to rodeos have been linked in this month of August 2022 and have placed the phenomenon of urban rodeos at the heart of the summer news.
A circuit to drive legally
After his misadventure, Christopher Grondin hopes one day to benefit from a circuit to make this activity legal, a real course designed for this:
“In Spain or Portugal, this practice is authorized. Why is this not the case in France? This would save us from driving on dual carriageways. We would be in a regulatory place. We had to have the Nogaro circuit at our disposal. Unfortunately, there weren’t enough of us to participate, as it was an official competition. »
Christophe Grondin therefore driving in the dark, in the evening, after midnight: “We have no choice, at least there is no one on the road. »
“Special adrenaline”
34 years old, this Gersois is a coachbuilder by trade. He started the practice of urban rodeo on the island of Reunion.
“Over there, we can do it, nobody told us to stop. I have always had a passion for mechanics. In the middle, we call it “runs” and not the rodeo. »
It details:
“In fact, we race on a double track on a straight line for 300 or 400 meters, we feel a particular adrenaline rising. It’s secure, because there are several of us to participate and therefore to control. To avoid all sorts of accidents, we phone each other to give the green light when the way is clear. »
“We are just passionate”
Very criticized after the numerous accidents of recent timesthe urban rodeo arouses enormous tensions as in the Sept-Deniers district in Toulouse.
However, practitioners defend this passion tooth and nail:
“We are not alcoholics or drug addicts as we are often caricatured. I work the rest of the time. We are just enthusiasts who live for mechanics. »
In order to process that he is a seasoned driver, Christopher Grondin justifies this practice thanks to the full possession of these driving points: “When we dropped off my car, I had my twelve points and my driving licence. I’m not saying I’m perfect, but I’m not a speeder on the road either. I work the rest of the time. »
Word of mouth to define the places
To find each other, followers communicate by word of mouth.
“Sur doesn’t have a Facebook group. It is by exchanging with each other that we find places that correspond to us. »
So, according to Christophe Grondin, about 300 people do urban rodeo in Toulouse. “We are a small number, it is already not bad. It is a practice that is increasingly taken in the automotive industry,” he finished.
A practice which he hopes will one day be practiced in other conditions, in a completely legal way.
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