Paul Varry dreamed of a cycling revolution. Then a SUV crushed it

Cycling rates in Paris have shot in recent years. But the death of Paul Varry, 27, who was supposedly hit by a driver, has exhibited a darker side to the Paris cycling revolution.

“This was not an accident,” believes Paul Corentin’s colleague.

We are standing at the edge of a bicycle lane at Boulevard Malesherbes, steps from the place where Paul was crushed by a SUV on October 15, 2024.

The moments prior to his death are subject to criminal investigation.

Paul was a bicycle at work house. The cycle route is separated from the road by a slightly high sidewalk.

According to witnesses and CCTV, the SUV driver began to drive on the bike lane. Prosecutors say the driver ran on Paul’s foot. Paul hit his fist on the hood.

The motorist was reversed at the beginning, but then allegedly led to the 27 -year -old. An autopsy confirmed “the brands of the vehicle that cross your body.”

The 52 -year -old driver has been accused of murder. His lawyer says that he may have lost control of the vehicle in a stressful situation he was trying to leave.

In an audience attended by the AFP news agency, he began to cry and said: “I regret what happened. I never wanted to cross it.”

Paris has seen an increase in cycling as part of a broader transformation headed by Mayor Anne Hidalgo. During the last decade, the city has invested 400 million euros (£ 331 million) in cycling infrastructure, creating more than 1,000 kilometers of bicycle lanes.

According to a recent study, cycling now represents more than 11% of trips within Paris, compared to only 4% by car. Walking is still the most popular way to move: represent 53% of trips, followed by public transport (30%).

But despite the investment, cycling in Paris still feels precarious.

The bicycle lanes are irregular, lack uniformity and, often, have no designated traffic lights. The rules surrounding the right of passage are not always clear, they often make fun, which makes cyclists difficult to sail.

Paul Varry’s death was extreme, but resonated and has become a symbol of the daily struggle for space in the streets of Paris.

His mother, Nathalie Tison, remembers her son as a carefree spirit that hugged the freedom of cycling. “He was a very happy and very bubbly person, he had a lovely sense of humor and was always very gentle with the people around him. It is an injustice because he deserved nothing that happened.”

She told me that she had always been worried about the dangers that her son rode in Paris, where she detected a sense of law among some drivers.

“Drivers can be super aggressive, nothing can be brought on their way,” he said. “For some, the car is an extension of its virility and if someone touches their car … it takes as a personal attack.

“I was afraid for him.”

Paul understood these risks, and was an active member of the Paris cycling group in Selle – Paris in the chair. He campaigned for a more segregated space for safer bicycles and unions.

The defenders expect the progress made in Paris to continue.

Rémi Féraud, a socialist senator and the best option of Anne Hidalgo for the future mayor, does not dream of a future without cars, “because there are Parisians who have cars.”

“But by reducing the space for the car, we reserve it for those who really need to come by car,” he says. “We want a city that is 100% cyclable … It is an offer of freedom.”

Carving more space in the street for cyclists has involved restricting the space for cars. The number of parking spaces in Paris has been cut in half and has been prohibited from certain vehicles driving in the city.

Some drivers, particularly those of the suburbs, feel that the city’s car reduction policies have hindered their lives.

“Driving in Paris is like going to war,” says Shamy, a 24 -year -old reserved midwife. “There are no rules.” I am sitting in your car while feeling horcated in a bike path: it cannot be reversed because people walk there and in front of us, the cars are bumpers.

What does he do if there is a confrontation with a cyclist? “I just say sorry.”

Shamy lets me out while we approach an area in the center of the city where traffic has been prohibited, one of several measures that have caused anger of business owners.

Patrick Aboukrat, owner of a fashion boutique in the Marais commercial district, has launched a lawsuit with other members of Marais Paris committee, the business association he leads, to try to reverse some of the new rules.

He says they are losing customers and that some planned to sell. “When young people say they want to open a store, I say ‘open a store in the suburbs, it leaves Paris’.

“We understand the need to have fewer cars in the center. I tell the mayor that we want to work together to change the plan. But they don’t listen. It is ideological.”

But Féraud, the senator, suggests that the increase in online purchases is to blame.

According to surveys, most of those living within the main road in Paris, of which only 30% have a car, do not care about the measures that limit traffic.

Those on the outskirts tend to drive more, but are not eligible to vote for the mayor of Paris or influence their traffic policies.

Alexandra Legendre, who represents a group of motorists lobby, the driver’s defense league, says “nobody (drives) for pleasure in Paris, is hell.” She feels that the authorities have prioritized cyclists at the expense of all others.

She accuses politicians of being blinked by the desire to transform Paris into the paradise of a cyclists, ignoring road safety. She insists that car drivers cannot be treated as “the only bad boys.”

There is a consensus that Paul Varry’s death was a tragedy, but Mrs. Legendre does not believe she has had anything to do with him being a cyclist.

Paris is sailing through the challenges of its cycling revolution, since European capitals are under pressure to stop carbon emissions related to transport. The EU green agreement aims to achieve a 90% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions related to 2050.

Corentin, Paul’s colleague, points out that although Paris is still far from perfect, the infrastructure has improved significantly, which makes it easier and more sure that never enjoying the view.

“We are in one of the most beautiful cities in the world, and there is no better way to see it than by bicycle.”

The constant current of cyclists buzzing along Rue de Rivoli, which was an important road until 2020, suggests that the change towards urban spaces friendly with bicycles is irreversible.

Paul’s mother hopes that the safe transformation of the streets of Paris will be part of her son’s legacy.

A date for trial has not yet been established.

When he finally arrives, he will face face to face with the man accused of causing his son’s death for the first time.

He is the father of four children, the authorities told him. Two families, she points out, have been “broken.”

She believes that the way Paul lived and died must be a catalyst for change.

“It was so bright, intelligent, sensitive: it’s such a waste.