The Conseil d'État has rejected appeals filed by the Fédération Française des Motards en Colère (French federation of angry motorcyclists) against the decree and order implementing mandatory roadworthiness testing for two-wheeled motor vehicles, as required by European Directive 2014/45/EU of 3 April 2014. Following on from its October 2022 decision, it recalled that the alternative measures considered at the time were too limited and not sufficient to exempt France from implementing roadworthiness testing.
The Fédération Française des Motards en Colère and others petitioned the Conseil d'État to annul a decree and an order dated 23 October 2023, which, enacted as part of the transposition of a European directive of 3 April 2014, define the terms and conditions for roadworthiness tests on two-wheeled motor vehicles.
The Conseil d’Etat today rejected these appeals.
The European directive of 3 April 2014 mandates that Member States implement compulsory periodic roadworthiness tests for two-wheeled motor vehicles as of 1 January 2022, with the aim of reducing accidents and fatalities among riders. Member States may only be exempted from this requirement if they have implemented "alternative" road safety measures proven to be sufficiently effective in meeting the European directive’s safety targets for motorcyclists (including the goal of "zero deaths" in road transport by 2050). Any exemption must be substantiated by solid and relevant road safety statistics from the five-year period leading up to the 2022 deadline.
As it previously ruled in October 2022, the Conseil d'État stated that the road safety measures introduced by the Government in a July 2022 decree, which the Fédération Française des Motards en Colère argued should replace compulsory roadworthiness testing, are too sporadic and clearly insufficient to meet the road user safety objectives outlined in the directive. Implementing these "alternative" measures alone would, therefore, not permit France to transpose the European directive correctly.
The Conseil d'Etat also pointed out that the first roadworthiness tests carried out since the introduction of compulsory roadworthiness testing have revealed that a significant proportion of the vehicles tested have technical defects that threaten the safety of road users. Out of the 123,043 vehicles inspected between 15 April and 29 May 2024, 45% had one or more defects, such as worn brake pads or poor tyre condition. More than 11% of these issues were classified as serious and posed a safety risk.
Timeline for the introduction of roadworthiness tests for two-wheeled motor vehicles
- 3 April 2014: European Directive 2014/45/EU makes roadworthiness testing compulsory for two-wheeled vehicles as of 1 January 2022.
- 9 August 2021: The Government introduces compulsory roadworthiness testing for two-wheeled vehicles, with a phased introduction schedule based on vehicle age, starting on 1 January 2023 (decree dated 9 August 2021).
- 12 August 2021: a decision by the Minister for Transport "suspends" the decree of 9 August 2021
- 25 July 2022: The Government abandons plans for roadworthiness testing, repeals the decree of 9 August 2021 and introduces alternative road safety measures (decree of 25 July 2022).
- 27 July 2022: The Conseil d'État annuls the postponement of roadworthiness testing beyond 1 January 2022, and overturns the Minister for Transport's decision to "suspend" the decree of 9 August 2021.
- 31 October 2022: The Conseil d'État annuls the decree of 25 July 2022, repealing the 9 August 2021 decree on roadworthiness testing, ruling that the proposed measures are insufficient to meet the road safety objectives set by the European directive. As a consequence of this annulment, the decree of 9 August 2021 reinstating roadworthiness tests for two-wheeled vehicles is now effective, but without the phased implementation schedule previously overturned by the Conseil d'État.
- 23 October 2023: The Government amends the decree of 9 August 2021 and specifies new procedures for introducing roadworthiness tests for two-wheeled vehicles (decree and order of 23 October 2023).
- 12 March 2025: the petitions filed by the Fédération Française des Motards en Colère and others against the decree and order of 23 October 2023, which are now final, are dismissed.