"
We have been seeing these practices for several months...
" In the ranks of the police, "
Les Dégonfleurs de SUVs
" question.
This mysterious environmental “
collective
”, whose large cars are the target, is said to be raging in several large cities in France, in particular in Paris.
As its name suggests, the small community, “
unstructured and unorganized
” as we are told, deflates the tires of sport utility vehicles, or SUVs, these automobiles with bulky bodies and off-road properties.
Very popular, no less than five SUVs monopolize the top 10 car sales in France, including the Peugeot 2008, the Dacia Duster and the Renault Captur.
Thus, the Twitter account of "
SUV Deflators
" claimed, on July 28, "
the deflation of 35 tanks
in a city in the west of France
", while announcing to join the international movement "
The Tire Extinguisher
», which claims similar actions in no less than 10 countries, for a total of several thousand deflated tires.
Facts that the community and its French counterpart justify by the pollution generated by these vehicles: more consuming than a simple city car and heavier than a sedan, SUVs are regularly accused of over-polluting, as WWF France asserted in a ticket, which estimates that an SUV rejects 20% more CO² than a so-called standard car.
For their part, SUV manufacturers defend themselves by highlighting their hybrid or electric models, and explaining how to install new anti-pollution devices.
“
SUVs are bigger, more expensive, more polluting cars.
They are therefore useless and harmful, electric or not
”, write the “
SUV deflators
” on Twitter.
And to assert: “
The state lets it go despite the state of climate alert, and lets the rich roll over our future at the wheel of their tanks.
At the police, the small group begins to annoy: "
If the collective grows, and is part of a more professional dynamic, it can quickly pose a problem of public safety, and cause serious road accidents
" , says a police source.
For the time being, the United Kingdom and then Sweden are the countries most affected.
Read alsoBérénice Levet: “
In the name of the protection of nature, some ecologists defile culture
”
Manifest on the windshield
The rallying of the “
SUV deflators
” to the international branch is in any case cause for concern.
On its site, the movement lists all the SUVs to be targeted, supporting photos, and has published a video guide to evacuate the air from the tires without puncturing them, even advising its members to mediate their misdeeds with the local press.
Once the operation is complete, the deflators place a manifesto on the vehicle's windshield.
Available in French on the movement's website, it explains to the owner that "
your SUV kills (...) Do not take it personally (...) we do this because driving a vehicle of this size in town is particularly harmful
" .
If the first action of the French branch dates from July 18, with some "
100 deflated SUVs in the 16th arrondissement of Paris
", the Tire Extinguishers seem to have started their action last March, in Edinburgh, Liverpool and in the London district of Chelsea.
Still, the idea is not new: in 2020, for example, Extinction Rebellion activists were already deflating SUVs in Bordeaux.
The activists of the group "
La Ronce
" also called for this action in October 2020.
Despite the danger that such an action may constitute, tire deflation is not considered a crime.
However, this can lead to a fine for willful degradation, as indicated in article R635-1 of the Penal Code.
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