A wedding procession with around 20 cars was fined a total of 8,370 euros for violating the traffic regulations when it was released last Saturday (25.
The drivers in the procession were deducted a total of 108 points from their driving licenses.
Rules that were broken included not wearing your seat belt, not respecting stop signs, crossing double white lines, crossing red lights, riding on bus and bike paths, and making phone calls while driving.
Security cameras captured the majority of incidents and issued a record-breaking 62 video verbalization tickets, the highest number issued since the cameras were installed in the city in 2016.
However, the police on motorcycles intercepted an unregistered motocross vehicle that was leading the procession.
The local authorities recalled: “When engaged couples request a civil wedding in the Mairie, they sign an agreement that obliges them and their families to respect the rules of public peace and security inside and outside the town hall.
“This [also] means to respect the traffic regulations during the wedding procession. ”
Wedding processions that were implicated in several incidents this summer
There have been several similar incidents in the past few months.
In Val d’Oise, violence broke out between wedding guests and the police on September 25 after members of the wedding procession blocked the A16 and D44 motorways with their cars.
When they tried to block a third road, police tried to divert the cars and a clash broke out with wedding guests tossing chairs, ashtrays and trash cans from restaurant terraces, prompting police to use tear gas to quell the fray to disperse.
In Oise, on September 19, a wedding procession was fined € 9,585 and issued with 71 tickets for violating the traffic regulations, again breaking a record for the highest number in a day in the city of Laigneville.
In the north, on September 4, police fined a wedding procession in Valenciennes 30 fines for violations such as speeding, swerving, sitting on car doors and failing to use seat belts.
The city has had special traffic rules on Saturdays for the past five years to prevent driver misconduct during wedding parades.
Also in Nord, a wedding procession car was chased by police on June 19 after a driver in an orange Lamborghini skid and tricks blocked the A21 while other members of the procession cheered from their cars.
When the police arrived, the chase driver escaped from the scene and eventually crashed the car.
No one was injured in the incident. The 23-year-old driver was arrested and charged with several criminal offenses, including speeding, refusing to obey police orders and driving without a valid driver’s license.
French rules for the use of the car horn
French wedding procession are known for using their car horns to make noise as you pass by as an expression of joy.
However, the French Highway Code specifies when the car horn can be used and this is prohibited in urban areas unless there is immediate danger.
Outside of cities, the rules are broader, although the use of the horn is allowed to warn other drivers, e.g. B. to signal the presence of another car.
Even if horns are allowed, the road traffic regulations stipulate that the sound generated may not be longer than necessary.
While horns should not be used for celebrations, in practice this use is usually tolerated by the police within reason.
However, the police can impose fines of 35 euros for improperly using a car horn and 68 euros for using an improper horn.
The rise of street video surveillance in France
France is the world leader in road surveillance technology, with controversial facial recognition cameras being used by security forces in some cases, such as at major events.
Cameras have also been used to detect traffic violations for more than 10 years, with the cities of Nice and Lille being particularly early advocates of the technology.
In 2008, Draguignan in the Var became the first in France to use camera evidence to use motorists for double parking in the city center.
Cannes followed a year later and Nice in 2010. Since then, numerous municipalities have joined the high-tech trend – including Istres, Nîmes, Chartres, Aix-en-Provence, Marseille and Paris.
A list of cities using ‘video verbalization’ (fines for video surveillance) can be found here on the video-verbalisation.fr website.
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