Despite increased road checks in the southern regions of Marseille this summer, this weekend’s rodeo degenerated into the Escales-Borely sector. Shortly after 1 a.m. on the night between Saturday and Sunday, July 5, 2026, while dozens of people were still emerging from bars on Avenue Pierre-Mendès-France in the 8th arrondissement, a high-capacity Kawasaki motorcycle roared between the Red Lion and the Escale roundabout.
The driver stands in the back seat and climbs up the artery for about twenty meters. But wheelieing isn’t the best way to see what’s in front of you. In this case, a Renault Mégane, which a motorcyclist crashed into head-on. The two-wheeler hit the rear window and its driver was thrown out. When firefighters arrived, the motorcyclist, a 40-year-old man, was already in cardiopulmonary arrest. With the support of the Smur team, he was taken to hospital in critical condition. He died there an hour later. The driver of the Mégane that was hit was also hospitalized with minor injuries.
Policemen were beaten and stoned
The police were also called and set up a security perimeter on the avenue, which was always very busy on Saturday evenings. But while they are still busy with the usual surveillance, around three o’clock in the morning, a Renault Clio crashes into their screen-printed patrol car, which was parked under guard, although with its flashing lights on it cannot be missed.
But the driver is not in good condition: drunk and tested positive for drugs, he was also found to be in possession of balloons and canisters of nitrous oxide – the famous “laughing gas”. The man, who was immediately arrested, had even just crashed into another car upstream and fled when he crashed into a police car.
During the arrest, about ten people attacked the officials. Some hide behind bushes and throw projectiles, while others try to blind the agents with lasers. Reinforcements are called for and a little further on the motorcycle rodeo continues as the grate closes, this time without any further casualties.