the video posted by Altis, a bicycle promoter

In a video very relayed on social networks Monday, June 12, we can see the ecologist deputy Sandrine Rousseau intervene between a taxi driver and a cyclist.

The video is making waves on social media. Monday June 12, 2023, the images of a violent altercation between a cyclist and a taxi driver in Paris were published by the content creator Altis, who confides in his biography on Twitter “vulgarizes[r] mobility in the urban environment & cycling”. The scene would have been shot on the occasion of the “convergence” which was held in Paris on Sunday June 11. It is a demonstration of cyclists in the middle of the city which took aimed to prove to the public authorities that it is more than necessary to make more room for bicycles in the city.Present like many other cyclists from the Ile-de-France region at the event, Altis broadcast it live on its Twitch channel, reports The Parisian. The video, in which we see in particular the Green MP Sandrine Rousseau interposed between the cyclist and the taxi driver, is only an extract from his live.

What we see on the video

The altercation is said to have started when one of the cyclists participating in the “convergence” stopped in front of a zebra crossing to let a pedestrian pass. A stop that the taxi driver would obviously not have seen coming, who then lightly hit the rear wheel of the bicycle. “Pedestrian priority of the con!” then launches the cyclist. “But then, you stop like that in front of me, put yourself on the side”, replies the taxi. And the cyclist continues: “It’s a pedestrian crossing, you shut your mouth!”

Despite violent verbal exchanges, everyone finally seems to be on their way. But several tens of meters later, the situation degenerated. While the Altis camera was unable to film part of the journey between the altercations, we find the two protagonists exchanging blows. Questioned by the daily newspaper of the capital, Altis affirms that the driver of the taxi would have caught up with the cyclist on the right, before catching him by the arm to bring him back to his car. If Altis has already promised a full update on the event on Tuesday on its YouTube channel, the driver’s version has not been communicated at this time.

Be that as it may, it was during the second altercation that the deputy for Europe Écologie-Les Verts, Sandrine Rousseau, made his appearance. At Parisian, she explains: “It was Sunday morning, I was going shopping at the market in the 13th arrondissement when I started to see an altercation on the road.” And to add: “I don’t know what happened at the start, I didn’t see. I did what I had to do, like any citizen.” Comments to which a much less impartial tweet has since been added published Monday, June 12, at the start of the evening, in which the elected environmentalist affirms this time: “Rue de Tolbiac, as elsewhere, a real cycle path would make it possible to appease the use of the road and to secure the practice of #bike and #Taxi. #Paris #Paris13.”