Illegal street racing in Pas-de-Calais: 400 vehicles, 2,000 people, two investigations opened
More than 400 vehicles and 2,000 people participated in an unauthorised gathering between Bully-les-Mines and Liévin. Two judicial investigations have been opened; the organisers face up to two years in prison.
Unauthorised vehicle gathering in Pas-de-Calais: two prosecutors investigating after giant street racing event
More than 400 vehicles converged during the night of 29 to 30 August between Bully-les-Mines and Liévin, in Pas-de-Calais, for a tuning gathering banned by prefectural order. According to France Info, approximately 2,000 people were present, including families with children. Some vehicles bore Belgian registration plates.
On the makeshift circuit, cars performed laps less than a metre from the crowd packed along the edge of the track. Images from the gathering show one participant jumping over a vehicle that brushed past them. The street racing continued for over an hour and a half before participants left the site.
Mayor of Liévin condemns grave endangerment
Alerted urgently during the night, Dany Paiva, National Rally mayor of Liévin, did not hide his anger. "You can end up in a situation where a vehicle loses control and crashes into the crowd. On top of the noise nuisance, there is obviously the endangerment which is terrible. Life is not Fast and Furious. And here, we have the impression of watching a Fast and Furious film," he stated. A local resident questioned on site also regretted the conditions of the gathering: "Tuning here is fairly commonplace, but it is dangerous."
Eleven police patrols intervened during the night, but failed to end the gathering. Despite the prefectural ban in force, participants then headed towards Merville, around thirty kilometres away, where the same scenes were repeated around 2 a.m. A Merville resident, awakened abruptly, said he understood the attraction of this activity, whilst demanding "that it be done safely, without vandalism and above all without nuisance to the surrounding area".
Tyre marks on the asphalt, investigations opened
Five days after the incidents, tyre-skid marks remained visible on the road surface. Two judicial investigations have been opened, one by the Dunkirk prosecutor's office and the other by the Béthune prosecutor's office, in order to identify the organisers of the gathering. The municipalities involved have also filed complaints.
The organisers face up to two years' imprisonment and a fine of €75,000.
Source: France Info