SUVs in the crosshairs. An environmental collective called “Stop SUV Lille” claims this Tuesday morning, a militant action, near Lille, in the North, towards the owners of these large cars which have become fashionable for a few years. In a press release, the activists announce that they have deflated, overnight from Monday to Tuesday, the tires of 65 SUVs “in the upscale district of Lambersart” to put them “out of harm’s way”.
The method is simple. “Using beans, they blocked the valves of the wheels which thus emptied of their air”, says the collective which warned the drivers by a leaflet to avoid putting them in danger by taking the road with a deflated tire.
Objective: to reduce sales.
The activists put the problem flat by estimating that these vehicles are “more energy-consuming” and “represent the 2nd cause of the increase in greenhouse gas emissions in France, behind the increase in air traffic”. Objective of this action: to reduce sales.
According to them, “local authorities, such as the city of Lille and the metropolis of Lille, must make strong political choices in favor of the climate and constrain the use of these polluting vehicles”.
Asked by 20 minutes, the Automobile Club du Nord denounces these actions. “First, it can be dangerous if the driver does not notice it before taking the wheel, notes its director Philippe Dutrieu. And then what do we call an SUV? There are some that are not necessarily bigger, but simply raised. »
Fewer and fewer small economical vehicles
According to him, the ambiguity also comes from the manufacturers who “manufacture less and less small economic vehicles”. “The choice to buy a car is limited,” he explains. With increasing pollution and safety standards, manufacturers prefer to produce larger vehicles, as small ones cost too much to manufacture. »
According to the Automobile Club, this is the first militant deflation operation in the North. This kind of action is not new, however. In 2006, the Solid’air collective had already taken action in Gironde. The eight members, indicted for “voluntary damage in a meeting”, had been ordered to pay 1,500 euros in damages to the owners of the vehicles, according to Actu.fr.
This type of action can be considered as “the destruction, degradation or deterioration of property belonging to others”, an act punishable by law.
