two children aged 10 and 11 seriously injured in an urban rodeo

Friday, August 5, around 9:30 p.m., in a residence in Pontoise (Val-d’Oise), a girl and a young boy were playing in a small square. “It was hot, as usual at the moment, (…) and there was a rodeo like there usually is in some neighborhoods”, says Anne Fromenteil, deputy mayor of Pontoise. The 11-year-old boy was rammed and hit in the shin. The 10-year-old girl, seriously injured in the head, was rushed to Necker hospital in Paris.

The pilot fled. Identified, he went to the police station on Saturday afternoon, accompanied by his lawyer. Aged 18, he lives in the same residence as the victims, and is known for driving without a license. Since the beginning of April in the Val-d’Oise, the police have intervened on 534 urban rodeos. The fight against urban rodeos has however become a priority for the government: the legislation has become tougher, and they are now a misdemeanor, punishable by penalties ranging from one to five years in prison.