What is "Biclou"? A Biclou, in somewhat familiar language, means a bicycle. It is also the title of a large video series launched by "Le Parisien", in partnership with Facebook Watch.
Every week, you can find an issue of "Biclou" on the Facebook page of "Parisien". In total: a one-year operation, with 48 episodes in magazine format, and a dedicated team to talk about the little queen's comeback.
VIDEO. They sink into Paris at night
In 2020, the bicycle is making a comeback. Green, fast, occupying a reduced space on the road, and maintaining the shape of its users, the biclou reappears in the landscape adorned with all the virtues. Electric bikes, whose sales are exploding, open up new possibilities, in town as well as in the countryside.
"Le Parisien" intends to cover this "velorution" in all its forms, and set off to discover its pioneers and its tribes. "Biclou" is not just a series on the bicycle, but on those who make it, design it, design the cycling infrastructures of today and tomorrow.
"Biclou" will meet cycling enthusiasts, in Paris, in the regions and abroad, especially in the most advanced cities on the subject. P
Newsletter - The essentials of the news
Every morning, the news seen by Le ParisienI'm registering
Your email address is collected by Le Parisien to allow you to receive our news and commercial offers. Find out more
Why is the bicycle becoming a great contemporary subject? In cities, suburbs, in the countryside, or even in summer in the mountains, the French rediscover the pleasure of pedaling nose in the wind.
The Hexagon has had a long intimate relationship with the little queen since the beginning of the 20th century. It is no coincidence that the Tour de France was born here in 1903. At the time, Henri Desgrange, owner of "L'Auto" wanted to cut the grass under the feet of his competitor, the newspaper "Le Bike "…
The return of homo francus velocipedus
For the French, the bicycle will prove to be a practical tool, to go to work, but also to take advantage of the first paid holidays in the 1930s. Even if the car, by becoming more popular during the Thirty Glorious Years, gradually overshadowed the little queen, homo francus velocipedus did indeed exist .
As often, it is the new converts who speak it best. Those whom "Le Parisien" has met in recent weeks pedal with a "feeling of freedom", a "rediscovered pleasure of moving freely, without being squeezed in the metro or the bus".
Less stress and less pollution
Constrained, the journey from home to work turns into a "suspended moment, an instant of well-being". New cyclists "feel more fit". They evoke "spontaneous discussions" with strangers on the bike paths that are created, "because we are not locked in a cabin", "less stress and pollution, more fun". In short, the bike, "it's really nice".
In one year in Paris, the number of cyclists jumped 54%. The appearance of new secure tracks, separate from motorized traffic, has a lot to do with it.
Parisians did not wait for the strikes of December 2019 to emerge from their cellar their old biclou. With the cessation of public transport for long weeks, other “bicycle operators” converted. They discovered that cycling is fast, even much faster than with other means of transport.
Like Paris, many cities in Ile-de-France have started to adapt their routes to cycling. Ile-de-France associations are already imagining a "RERvélo", with 650 km of cycle paths, to link all of Greater Paris.
The pioneer cities are found in the provinces, such as Strasbourg, Grenoble, Rennes, La Rochelle or Bordeaux.
But much remains to be done. In town, pedestrians like bikes often have to adapt to infrastructure favoring the car. Riding a bike to work or going for a walk is often too risky an exercise.
If the car dominates culturally, a network of dynamic associations urges the public authorities to make more room for cyclists. After having been widely popularized at the beginning of the 20th century, the bicycle has come a long way. With "Biclou", let's Bike to the future!