Painted entirely in a spectral white, surrounded by plants and flowers, the bicycle recently hung at the top of a rack gives the impression of being levitated.
Ready to take off at the exit of the Landy bridge, which spans the Saint-Denis canal, in Aubervilliers (Seine-Saint-Denis).
The ghost bicycle is an invitation.
To remember, to pay homage, to question the road infrastructure and to look out for others.
This form of memorial called in English “ghost bike” was born in 2003, in Saint-Louis, in the United States, and is increasingly developing in urban public spaces.
The most publicized is the one placed in April 2019, a year after the death of the parliamentary assistant, Armelle Cizeron, killed by a truck driver at the corner of the Quai d'Orsay and the Pont de la Concorde, in Paris.
“It was removed after the corrections to secure the cycling facilities,” explains Alexis Frémeaux, president of the MDB (Better Travel by Bicycle) Île-de-France association.
White bicycles are not intended to remain permanently in public spaces.
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