Bof Alors! The French Loophole Clog Up!
Discussion
The French are bravere than the Brits in that they put their money where their "Bofs" come from! 
They are getting vry cross at the ever increasing number of pings from "les radars"
So a lawyer over there has a website. For just a few Euro you can launch the appeal. You fill in the form .. send it in on-line und it go to the relevant court.
The idea ist to clog up the system .. which
.. it appears to do so already.
If the appeal ist not heard within 12 months - then the case ist dropped .. along with the fines. So far .. they have got to 12 months und cases have indeed been dropped per "France Soir" und said website..;)
(Check BBC for story as they also carry it on radio ..)
They are getting vry cross at the ever increasing number of pings from "les radars"
So a lawyer over there has a website. For just a few Euro you can launch the appeal. You fill in the form .. send it in on-line und it go to the relevant court.
The idea ist to clog up the system .. which
.. it appears to do so already.If the appeal ist not heard within 12 months - then the case ist dropped .. along with the fines. So far .. they have got to 12 months und cases have indeed been dropped per "France Soir" und said website..;)
(Check BBC for story as they also carry it on radio ..)
Your wish ist my command. I find this English version for you.If you google on France news .. with French for appeal/speeding fine .. you get a right truck load of French press which say more or less the same as this one.
Sunday Herald said:
Lawyer threatens to overwhelm justice system with internet appeals for drivers
FRANCE: Website will challenge driving convictions for as little as four euros
From Hugh Schofield in Paris
A MAVERICK lawyer who styles himself the motorists' defender has vowed to bring the French justice system to its knees via a groundbreaking website that automatically challenges radar-generated speeding convictions.
After just one month in operation, the site - www.direct-avocat.com - already has 120,000 subscribers, who for a maximum fee of just 8 (roughly £7) have been helped to file legal objections against fines or the deduction of licence points.
For Yannick Rio, who devised the software with the help of an American car users' association, the aim is to flood the courts with so many appeals that they are unable to cope. Under the French penal code, the punishments will lapse if the challenges are unanswered after a year.
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Rio says he is providing an outlet for the growing anger in France at the proliferation of radars and other controls, and at the undiscriminating manner with which the state uses them to collect hundreds of millions of euros every year.
"France is now the most repressive country in Europe when it comes to traffic offences," he says from his offices in Paris's expensive 16th arrondissement.
"But the weak point is the legal system. In order to save money, the government is closing down local courts and reducing the number of judges. This means it is becoming harder for the citizen to exercise his basic right to challenge a conviction.
"So what we are doing is merely playing the state's own game. They want to have remote justice, exercised by computers and radars. Well, we will give automatic, internet-generated appeals.
"If just 1% of those given fines or point deductions files a challenge, then the whole system will implode," he says.
Visitors to Rio's site are taken through a number of questionnaires - the equivalent, he says, of a fully fledged legal consultation - and their information is processed into the form of an official letter of appeal.
Signed via a scan or other piece of internet software, the letter is then sent by registered email to the relevant local court - which the website will also automatically find.
The service costs 4 if the challenge is to a simple fine, and 8 to fight a loss of points. By contrast, hiring a lawyer to argue a case in court would cost up to 1500 (£1350).
France dramatically changed its policy on traffic offences seven years ago, when then-president Jacques Chirac made it a priority to reduce the country's horrific level of road deaths. Since the introduction of radars in 2003, the number of people killed on the roads has almost halved to around 4500 a year.
However, motorists' groups criticise the arbitrary way in which punishments are inflicted. Fines are automatically incurred for an excess of speed of just a few km per hour, and drivers have their licences confiscated if they lose all 12 points. With three or four points deducted for a regular speed offence, this happens regularly.
According to official figures, 9.5 million points were removed and 90,000 driving permits were annulled in 2007 alone. The same year saw seven million speeding tickets from the country's 2000 radars, raising some 500 million for the state treasury.
"Of course, I am not against road safety, but it is the role of any good lawyer to find breaches in the law and exploit them.
"Many ordinary people have lost their jobs because they no longer have a driving licence - I am simply giving them a way to fight back," Rio says.
However, his initiative has received rather less than wholehearted backing from the rest of the legal profession, many of whom regard Rio as a media-savvy shyster. The profession's governing body is currently investigating if his website is even legal.
Under French law, lawyers are forbidden to tout for paid work or to act as intermediaries between citizens and the justice system. Rio retorts that the money he receives from the website is in the form of copyright payments for having helped devise its software.
"The monopoly enjoyed for so long by the legal profession is not just against European directives, it is also a major obstacle to free competition. For me, the law is a market like any other - and there is no reason it should not be practised on the internet. It's up to lawyers to adapt," Rio says.
He promises more web-based legal services in the months ahead, including the chance for a low-cost, consultation-free divorce.
FRANCE: Website will challenge driving convictions for as little as four euros
From Hugh Schofield in Paris
A MAVERICK lawyer who styles himself the motorists' defender has vowed to bring the French justice system to its knees via a groundbreaking website that automatically challenges radar-generated speeding convictions.
After just one month in operation, the site - www.direct-avocat.com - already has 120,000 subscribers, who for a maximum fee of just 8 (roughly £7) have been helped to file legal objections against fines or the deduction of licence points.
For Yannick Rio, who devised the software with the help of an American car users' association, the aim is to flood the courts with so many appeals that they are unable to cope. Under the French penal code, the punishments will lapse if the challenges are unanswered after a year.
advertisement
Rio says he is providing an outlet for the growing anger in France at the proliferation of radars and other controls, and at the undiscriminating manner with which the state uses them to collect hundreds of millions of euros every year.
"France is now the most repressive country in Europe when it comes to traffic offences," he says from his offices in Paris's expensive 16th arrondissement.
"But the weak point is the legal system. In order to save money, the government is closing down local courts and reducing the number of judges. This means it is becoming harder for the citizen to exercise his basic right to challenge a conviction.
"So what we are doing is merely playing the state's own game. They want to have remote justice, exercised by computers and radars. Well, we will give automatic, internet-generated appeals.
"If just 1% of those given fines or point deductions files a challenge, then the whole system will implode," he says.
Visitors to Rio's site are taken through a number of questionnaires - the equivalent, he says, of a fully fledged legal consultation - and their information is processed into the form of an official letter of appeal.
Signed via a scan or other piece of internet software, the letter is then sent by registered email to the relevant local court - which the website will also automatically find.
The service costs 4 if the challenge is to a simple fine, and 8 to fight a loss of points. By contrast, hiring a lawyer to argue a case in court would cost up to 1500 (£1350).
France dramatically changed its policy on traffic offences seven years ago, when then-president Jacques Chirac made it a priority to reduce the country's horrific level of road deaths. Since the introduction of radars in 2003, the number of people killed on the roads has almost halved to around 4500 a year.
However, motorists' groups criticise the arbitrary way in which punishments are inflicted. Fines are automatically incurred for an excess of speed of just a few km per hour, and drivers have their licences confiscated if they lose all 12 points. With three or four points deducted for a regular speed offence, this happens regularly.
According to official figures, 9.5 million points were removed and 90,000 driving permits were annulled in 2007 alone. The same year saw seven million speeding tickets from the country's 2000 radars, raising some 500 million for the state treasury.
"Of course, I am not against road safety, but it is the role of any good lawyer to find breaches in the law and exploit them.
"Many ordinary people have lost their jobs because they no longer have a driving licence - I am simply giving them a way to fight back," Rio says.
However, his initiative has received rather less than wholehearted backing from the rest of the legal profession, many of whom regard Rio as a media-savvy shyster. The profession's governing body is currently investigating if his website is even legal.
Under French law, lawyers are forbidden to tout for paid work or to act as intermediaries between citizens and the justice system. Rio retorts that the money he receives from the website is in the form of copyright payments for having helped devise its software.
"The monopoly enjoyed for so long by the legal profession is not just against European directives, it is also a major obstacle to free competition. For me, the law is a market like any other - and there is no reason it should not be practised on the internet. It's up to lawyers to adapt," Rio says.
He promises more web-based legal services in the months ahead, including the chance for a low-cost, consultation-free divorce.
I think he wrong .. France follow the UK as in "nice little earner" .. but the scams have not saved the lives.
France doubled the number of RPU gendarme und officially claim these to be the reason.
skeggysteve said:
Battenburg Bob said:
I think that's a record for the lack of smilies in a Wildcat post. Well done!
Bob that really deserves a 
No offense Wildly but....
those little guys 
My original penning of above quote had comments peppered with them .. but the twins within me seemed to get a bit restless .. so I had the "toes up!" Unfortunately .. will be in/out of hospital in next three/four month or so till they arrive. So far . I am on "bacon und apricot jam butties.."
Then I wonder why I get the heartburn ....
AJS- said:
havoc said:
Why can't the British be more like the French?!?
No...seriously!
Too long since we've given the government a good kicking. Whether or not we end up with a republic, Britain's governing class have been in need of a wake up call for a long time, IMO.No...seriously!
"People should not be afraid of their governments. Governments should be afraid of their people."
Guam said:
EU_Foreigner said:
I assume the French appeal system is different to the UK one then, as over here you will get an increased penalty when you even dare to launch an appeal.
True but if part of the Fee includes a "socialfund charge" for those singled out then job done for not a lot of Dosh.I reckon this is something an operation like Safespeed could drive for everyone, this is the way to sort this problem, legal, effecient and bloody funny to boot.
Come on someone lets get it going, I will make a corporate contribution to the "social Fund" to help with this!
Cheers
Tom
If I were to get caught, and the appeal process would only cost a bit more money and no risk to points, I would certainly take that route to slow the system down.
Sadly though, I believe it's the people that are the worst problem in Britain.
Far too much faith in and deference to authority, and still gullible enough to fall for the idea that "if you haven't done anything wrong you've nothing to fear" every time our civil liberties are eroded.
Also far too ready to believe the various scare stories that are trotted out to give the government ever more reasons to tax and control the population. Terrorism, global warming, out of control crime, serial killers and paedophiles roaming the streets with impunity, ill health, death and danger lurking around every corner and the only answer is ever more laws and taxes to save us from the monsters they create.
That goes for most countries in the west, but especially for Britain in my experience.
You could blame the media, as they are more than capable of whipping up a storm about nothing, and because Britain is so centralised this tends to focus attention on the national government who must "do something" about this latest outrage to ensure it never happens again. Unfortunately they are usually completely powerless to do anything about the fortunately very rare cases of all of the above, but it doesn't stop them drafting bad laws to satisfy the demands of the voters.
I wouldn't blame the press though. You get the press you deserve and scare stories sell.
Some people blame the inherently heirachical nature of a monarchy as opposed to a republic, but republics can be oppressive too. Just ask a Romanian.
I think it's just simply been allowed to fester too long, and we've developed a class of politicians who have been talking to themselves for centuries, and been clever enough to never quite kill the goose that lays the golden egg. Britain hasn't had a serious attempt to overthrow the government since Oliver Cromwell, and that's too long.
Far too much faith in and deference to authority, and still gullible enough to fall for the idea that "if you haven't done anything wrong you've nothing to fear" every time our civil liberties are eroded.
Also far too ready to believe the various scare stories that are trotted out to give the government ever more reasons to tax and control the population. Terrorism, global warming, out of control crime, serial killers and paedophiles roaming the streets with impunity, ill health, death and danger lurking around every corner and the only answer is ever more laws and taxes to save us from the monsters they create.
That goes for most countries in the west, but especially for Britain in my experience.
You could blame the media, as they are more than capable of whipping up a storm about nothing, and because Britain is so centralised this tends to focus attention on the national government who must "do something" about this latest outrage to ensure it never happens again. Unfortunately they are usually completely powerless to do anything about the fortunately very rare cases of all of the above, but it doesn't stop them drafting bad laws to satisfy the demands of the voters.
I wouldn't blame the press though. You get the press you deserve and scare stories sell.
Some people blame the inherently heirachical nature of a monarchy as opposed to a republic, but republics can be oppressive too. Just ask a Romanian.
I think it's just simply been allowed to fester too long, and we've developed a class of politicians who have been talking to themselves for centuries, and been clever enough to never quite kill the goose that lays the golden egg. Britain hasn't had a serious attempt to overthrow the government since Oliver Cromwell, and that's too long.
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