In the space of two months, no less than 4 collateral victims at an urban rodeo in France have been counted.
Among them, two children in serious condition broke in Pontoise.
It has become the daily life of many local residents, who have been subjected to the constant passage of motocrossers under their windows for ten years now.
Originally purchased with the narcotics agent and ridden by criminals, the motorcycles are now legally acquired by youngsters.
A trivialization of the practice linked to its glorification in urban culture.
The United States main vectors of diffusion
In the country of Uncle Sam, the urban rodeo has been elevated by some to the rank of "
sport
" or way of life called "
bike life
".
In 2012, the city centers of Baltimore, Philadelphia and New York were invaded by motocross riders, all from poor neighborhoods.
Several organized gangs flourish from New York to New Haven in Connecticut.
In Baltimore, champion of crime on the east coast, war is even declared between the authorities and groups of “riders”.
A game of cat and mouse that leads to several fatal accidents.
The "bike life" quickly becomes a phenomenon that goes beyond the framework of delinquency alone.
Read alsoWild rodeos: the worrying figures of a scourge that takes root
Hollywood is quick to look into the subject.
In the 2010s, action films about urban rodeo like
Fast and Furious
met with international success.
“
The distribution of films like Fast and Furious in the neighborhoods helped to give another image of urban rodeos by showing a positive side of this dangerous practice.
Crime is watered down, allowing rodeos to penetrate other spheres not concerned with crime
, ”says sociologist Thomas
Sauvadet
, teacher-researcher at the University of Paris Est Créteil and specialist in gangs.
A new component of hip-hop culture
Like graffiti, rap, beatbox (making a rhythm with your mouth) and DJing (mixing music), “bike life” has almost become a new discipline in hip-hop.
"
There is a parallel that can be drawn between the phenomenon of urban tag and rodeo," explains Thomas Sauvadet.
In the beginning the tag was made by people who were steeped in delinquency.
Over time and its proliferation and then its diffusion in the collective imagination of other young people from not at all criminal neighborhoods have appropriated it as a discipline.
The bike life follows the same trajectory
".
From the start of the phenomenon in the United States, Gansta Rap, a musical subgenre promoting drug trafficking, took hold of the urban rodeo.
Artists like Meek Mill, a native of Philadelphia, parade on his motorcycle in the back wheel in his clip
I'm a boss in 2012.
Video which peaks today at 120 million views.
Like the gold chain, the KTM becomes the new object to show off.
Read alsoUrban rodeos: Gérald Darmanin promises 10,000 control operations
French rappers, influenced by American hip-hop imagery, were quick to adopt its codes.
Hexagonal Rap heavyweights promote urban rodeos in their texts or in their clips.
The Marseille singer Jul, who has sold 4 million albums in 4 years, has become the standard bearer of the practice with hit songs like “
sors le cross volé
”.
“
A young person from the French neighborhoods will more easily identify with Jul than with a rapper from Philadelphia.
Usually they don't know that their favorite rappers are inspired by their American counterparts
», Thomas Sauvadet explains to us again.
Today, motorcycles are no longer systematically stolen, drivers without helmets in the wrong direction no longer frighten motorists and pedestrians in New York or Philadelphia, but indeed those in Rennes, Verdon-sur-Mer or Pontoise.