The fact is rare enough to be remarkable. After several years of silence from the 21-year incumbent Mayor of Marseille, Jean-Claude Gaudin, finally spoke about the bicycle. And no less than twice in eight days. Don't, however, expect a raving tirade in favor of cycling from the future president of the metropolis. He doesn't show commitment in the newsletter of the inter-ministerial mission of the Aix-Marseille-Provence metropolis project, where he states:  

"We must increase the offer of collective, sustainable, and regular transportation options, by providing multimodal networks that combine buses, regional express trains, metros, tramways, bikes, and more"

His missive in France Inter is nevertheless more interesting:

"In Marseille we abide by all the rules and laws of the Republic."

As a preamble to a question on cycling in Marseille, we must admit that Gaudin's statement was bold when everyone knows that Marseille holds the national record for transgressions against article L228-2 (law stating the necessity of bike routes and signage) of the Republic's laws.

"You know that we built plenty of bicycle paths…"

But can one truly say that we built plenty of bike paths when the city just received the "Rusty Nail" award for putting in the least amount of effort into cycling infrastructure? Can one truly say this when we have so little cycling infrastructure that we cannot even be listed in the ranking of national cycling friendly cities?

"…the Administrative Court had even cancelled some of them…"

Gaudin makes reference here to the Prado bike path fitted on a sidewalk and that was recalled by the Administrative Court, but is currently in appeal to become a bike path once again. What about the four appeals the city has lost because it refuses to create more bike paths?

"…in reality as the 'second city' of France, we suffer from less pollution than Paris…"

And so says Gaudin, of a French city that has the shortest lifespan due to the pollution that plagues Marseille.

"…we have never, for instance, breached limits as important as in the capital."

Was there finally a moment of lucidity in the head of the mayor of the second city of France? Could it happen that he may have just realized, while riding his senator's Citroen,that Paris has 500 times more cycling facilities while being 2.28 times smaller than Marseille?

This collective could not let these absurdities pass in silence. Surely this article will not please everyone but we would like to dream that the city of Marseille will see this constructive criticism and react in return (including with respect to this collective).

Do your city officials support sustainable transportation, like cycling? How do they show this support? Are safe transportation routes provided in your community? Share your thoughts and your city's stories in the comments area below.

Original article, originally published in French here.

Credits: Data and images linked to sources.

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