A Stealthy Crackdown: France's New Speed Cameras Sparking Controversy
"Charles Consigny referred to the combination of radars and cash machines as the devices in question."
By 2025, French departments will see an increase in unmarked speed cameras aimed at drivers with major speeding offenses. This move, however, has been met with skepticism by lawyer Charles Consigny, who criticizes it as a cash grab rather than a safety measure.
© GETTY IMAGES Alexis Fargeaudoux, Published on
Nine departments - Ardèche, Cantal, Bouches-du-Rhône, Ariège, Ain, Haute-Loire, Pyrénées-Orientales, Tarn-et-Garonne, and Alpes-de-Haute-Provence - will soon see a tripling in unmarked speed cameras. Yet, Charles Consigny, a chronicler on RMC's Les Grandes Gueules, finds this decision questionable.
"This isn't about road safety, but generating revenue," Consigny asserted. "These cameras are cash machines. The state needs new income, and they're relying on these systems," he continued. Consigny also delivered a warning to Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau: "The right traditionally values freedom, but this system is freedom-killing and opposes what right-wing voters want."
Unmasking the Stealthy Enforcers: How to Spot Them
Being unmarked, these speed cameras are difficult to identify from other vehicles on the road. The Road Safety Authority explains they are operated by gendarmes, police officers, or private companies authorized by the state from unmarked vehicles. Drivers won't immediately know if they've been caught speeding as the systems integrate into the vehicles and use an infrared flash that drivers cannot see.
The technical parameters for these cameras are set at a 10 km/h margin for speed limits below 100 km/h and 10% above 100 km/h.
The Big Question: Are We Simply Being Fined to Death?
France’s deployment of advanced speed cameras has sparked controversy due to concerns about revenue generation and the perceived erosion of drivers' freedoms. The cameras expanded their capabilities to detect not just speeding but also mobile phone usage, seatbelt non-compliance, incorrect overtaking, and other driving violations.
Critics argue this could lead to a "tsunami of fines" that are difficult to contest without physical evidence. Foreign drivers are also not exempt from these fines as they are automatically linked to vehicle registration. Motoring organizations have warned that the new system provides for multiple tickets per vehicle, potentially creating a massive revenue source for the government.
Losing our Freedom Wheel?
The widespread and covert use of these cameras is viewed as an intrusive form of surveillance, undermining the traditional notion of policing with a human element. Critics argue it leads to a loss of privacy and autonomy for drivers. Notably, the large-scale removal or vandalization of fixed speed cameras during the Yellow Vest movement reflects public dissatisfaction with perceived unfair targeting and revenue-driven enforcement.
Opponents question if these measures are proportionate to the risks, given the lack of transparency in camera placement and operation. While the government emphasizes road safety, critics argue the real motive is revenue generation, impinging upon the delicate balance between safety and personal freedoms.
The Yellow Vest protests, which began over fuel tax hikes but expanded into a broader critique of the Macron government, included the destruction of nearly two-thirds of France’s fixed speed cameras. This act of civil disobedience highlights deep-seated frustration with what many see as excessive state control and punishment of ordinary citizens.
The move towards more automated, less visible enforcement is seen by some as a shift away from traditional policing, where officers have discretion and can consider context – a change some view as dehumanizing and unfair to drivers.
- Critics of the new speed camera deployment in France, like Charles Consigny, question the association between road safety and finance, suggesting that the system is more focused on generating revenue for the government rather than ensuring safety.
- The expansion of the speed camera system's capabilities to detect various driving violations, beyond just speeding, raises concerns about whether this could lead to a tsunami of fines that are difficult to contest, potentially infringing on the general-news of drivers' freedoms.
- The use of unmarked speed cameras is seen as an intrusion into personal privacy, with opponents arguing that it undermines the traditional human element of policing and leads to a loss of autonomy for drivers, especially in light of the public dissatisfaction shown during the Yellow Vest protests.
