Roadworthiness checks for motorbikes remain obligatory, rules French court
The ruling comes despite fierce opposition to the contrôle technique from many riding
Motorbike lobby group the FFMC claims that CTs do not make bikes safer, but the Conseil d’Etat disagreed
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The controversial contrôle technique (CT, roadworthy test) for motorbikes will remain in place in France, the high court has ruled, despite many protests from biking representatives.
The Conseil d’État (the French administrative supreme court) handed down the ruling on March 12, in a final ruling against an appeal that had been seen as opponents’ ‘last hope’ to cancel the CT requirement.
CTs for motorbikes have been compulsory since April 15, 2024, despite strong opposition and many U-turns from the government in the months and years before then.
Riders’ appeal
The motorcycle lobby group La Fédération française des motards en colère (FFMC, the French federation of “angry motorcyclists”) had lodged an appeal against decree no. 2023-974 of October 23, 2023, which lays out the procedures for motorbike CTs.
The group has said that it believes CTs for motorbikes are unnecessary, costly and only useful for the inspection companies. It has added that CTs for bikes are inefficient when it comes to maintaining two-wheeled vehicles, and will not make biking safer.
In a press release, it has stated: “This CT makes no sense, as it will simply carry out, for a fee, a visual check of the vehicle's safety features, which a reasonably well-informed [motorbike] user can easily carry out for free.”
The FFMC claims that “alternative” measures on the roads (speed cameras, for example) are more effective as a means to lower the death rate of motorcyclists.
The group has encouraged a ‘boycott’ of the CT, and claims that the majority of riders have failed to attend the checks since their introduction.
Read more: Motorbike contrôle technique tests in France boycotted by most riders
Conseil d’Etat decision
The Conseil d’Etat did not agree with the FFMC appeal. It stated:
A CT for motorbikes is required according to the European directive of April 3, 2014 and that France cannot avoid it
The so-called “alternative measures” suggested by FFCM are “too ad hoc and manifestly insufficient to achieve the road user safety objectives provided for in the directive”
The first inspections carried out since the mandatory introduction of the CT (between 15 April and 29 May 2024) have found that 45% of the 123,043 two-wheelers inspected had technical faults that threatened the safety of road users
As a result of this, it stated that CTs will remain in place for motorbike users.
Read more: New French contrôle technique test: 1 in 5 motorcyclists failed to attend
How will the CT be implemented now?
The CT for motorbikes will continue to be gradually introduced.
Since January 1, 2025, vehicles aged seven years or more have been required to have a CT.
From 2026, all users will be required to have a CT for their bike in the six months before the fifth anniversary of the vehicle's registration.
After that, a CT must be repeated every three years.
In the event of sale, a CT must be carried out at least six months before the vehicle is handed to the new owner.
Read also: How will new contrôle technique tests work for motorbikes in France?
This applies to all ‘category L’ vehicles, namely:
Read also: Do non-licence cars need a contrôle technique in France?
The average price for a motorbike CT is around €60. The fine for non-compliance is €135.
