Andorra la VellaThe motorcyclist associations of Ariège and Haute-Garonne have called the motorcyclists of the two areas for a protest that will take place on April 20. The intention is for all motorcyclists to gather in Saverdun to start a slow march at ten in the morning that must end in l’Hospitalet. The intention is to attract attention by causing traffic problems coinciding with the largest flow of French people who want to access Pas de la Casa on Saturday. The march has been dubbed as OpérationEscargot because it is about driving as slowly as possible occupying all the lanes of the road. The protest is related to the refusal to pass the technical inspection of vehicles (ITV), since until now it was not mandatory in France, but the executive has decided that from now on it will be. The action is done in support of the self-established French Federation of Bikers in Cholera (FFMC) which leads the protests throughout the Hexagon.
The most curious element of the call is that it is indicated that those who wish, after a mass brawl in Hospitalet, can go to Andorra “to fill up the petrol tank and do shopping”.
Technical vehicle inspection (ITV) was not mandatory in France for motorcycles. They have never had to go through this inspection, until now, and French motorists do not think this change is a good idea. Last week there were rallies of 40,000 people, 10,000 of them in Paris, with their motorbikes to make clear their position against the measure. Last Saturday there was already a similar action to hinder the arrival of tourists in Andorra.
In France it was about to be implemented in 2021, but the Government of Emmanuel Macron ultimately did not apply the measure. Later, a complaint by environmental associations before the Council of State reactivated the matter and now the law has entered into force. Called CT2R (technical control of the two wheels), the standard will affect more than three million vehicles. This year, vehicles registered before 2017 must submit, although the margin will gradually increase. The inspection will have a periodicity of three years.
