The technical control of motorcycles and two-wheelers will finally be compulsory in France from October 1, 2022. To everyone’s surprise, the Council of State formally opposed the repeal decreed by the government of Emmanuel Macron.
The compulsory technical control for motorcycles and two-wheelers back on the table. A defector from a 2014 European directive, the decree was adopted by the Directorate General for Energy and Climate (DGEC) in June 2021 before being postponed. Faced with the anger of bikers and associations, the Macron government then completely changed its mind. The measure has indeed been abandoned, Emmanuel Macron considering that “it was not the time to bother the French”.
In a judgment delivered this Tuesday, May 17, 2022, the Council of State opposed the government’s decision. Seized by three associations, the French public institution considered that the government could not eternally postpone the adoption of technical control for two wheels.
The technical control of motorcycles is making a comeback
“The interim judge observes that this control has been imposed by European law since January 1, 2022 and that the Government has neither waived any technical control, contrary to what it had announced, nor implemented alternative security which could, under European law, justify derogating from it, since it limited itself to announcing the project of such measures, of more or less direct effect”announces the Council of State.
Account “given the time necessary for the material implementation of the technical inspection”the Council recommends applying the measure recommended by the European Union in France from October 1, 2022. The institution argues that the government never amended the original decree. The Council of State emphasizes “that a user of motorized two-wheelers is 22 times more likely to be the victim of a fatal accident than a user of a light vehicle” to justify the implementation of the measure.
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Unsurprisingly, bikers quickly stepped up to criticize this decision. A spokesperson for the French Federation of Angry Bikers (FFMC) considered that the measure makes no sense. “The Council of State speaks of a date in October while this same Council of State has still not ruled on the cancellation of the technical control of the two-wheelers. It would seem that the examination of the appeal made by the associations was done before the examination of the possibility of approval”, regrets the spokesperson. The compulsory technical control of motorcycles will obviously be one of the files that the next Minister of Transport will have to deal with.
