“I’ve already had two bikes stolen, including one with 1,000 bullets that I really liked. I filed a complaint but he was never found. I can tell you it hurts.” Passionate about bicycles, Vincent has become a specialist in the fight against theft. A member of the Rennes Roazhon Mobility bicycle school, he regularly works in working-class neighborhoods to introduce residents to the pedal. “All the people we see, they tell us about the theft of bicycles. Even in the cellars, even with a good padlock, they can have them pulled. It is a social reality”. Some prefer to store them on their balcony, but they take up space and don’t come down more often. A real brake on cycling, theft is a real scourge that the authorities are unable to contain. France, however, hit hard in January 2021 when it made it compulsory to identify all new bicycles sold by professionals. Since July 2021, this measure has also been mandatory for used bicycles resold by any authorized distributor, including brands such as Cash Converters for example.
Adopted as part of the orientation law on mobility, the measure had been demanded for years by associations promoting cycling. The observation was simple. According to figures from the Ministry of the Interior, more than 300,000 bicycles were stolen in 2018. About 100,000 were found but only 7% could be returned. Because without identification, it is impossible for the police, gendarmes or individuals to know who to bring them back to. “The more we mark them, the more we will find them, that’s for sure”, assures Patrick Guinard, president of Association for the Promotion and Identification of Cycles (Apic). Appointed by the ministry to manage the single file in Europe, the Apic has seen the number of identified bicycles skyrocket since 2021. In April 2023, the file contained 4.425 million bicycles, or around 30% of the bicycles in circulation in France. . “It is estimated that there are around 30 million bicycles in France but that half do not ride and remain to rot in the cellars”, explains the president of Apic. Before the legal obligation, just over 600,000 bicycles had already been marked or engraved via the Bicycode system. Since then, seven operators (including Bicycode) have been approved to affix the famous label.
Two years after the enactment of the law, the system has already proven its effectiveness: the percentage of returned bicycles has increased from 7% to almost 11%. The reality is even probably much better because to be counted as returned, a bike must first be declared as stolen on the Apic file. “With identification, many people find their bike themselves. It scares a lot of petty thieves, ”says the president of Apic. In addition to its importance in restitution, the number pasted or engraved on the frame is also a means of combating theft. “The identification number must be clearly visible on the frame, it is essential that it be seen. It does not prevent theft but it deters”, explains Armande Cocquerez, coordinator of Rayons d’action.
30 euros for marking, but sometimes less
For years, his association has campaigned for identification by offering engraving at an affordable price (10 euros against 30 euros in stores). This April afternoon, Areas of action had even offered free engraving (well, paid for by Rennes Métropole) to encourage individuals to identify their two-wheelers. “My bike, I want it. I do a lot of trips with it and I don’t want it to be stolen. I wanted to mark it for a long time but I had not taken the time. I think that can deter and that it can help find it if it is stolen, ”says Béatrice, who came to engrave her Gitane de ville. It was after her husband bought himself a new bike, which was therefore engraved, that the cyclist from Vezin-le-Coquet made up her mind. Proof that the legal obligation has an effect. “It has to become a reflex for users,” assures the coordinator of Rayons d’action.
The Apic figures also show that professional sellers are not the only ones to engrave bikes. While 1.9 million new adult bicycles (children’s bicycles are not subject to mandatory marking) were sold in 2022, the Apic file recorded 2.1 million new registrants. “The goal would be to get to 100%. This is the only way we can fight against concealment (the resale of stolen objects). If those who steal bicycles can no longer sell them, then we will have won everything because they will no longer be stolen. All you have to do is ask for the identification number”, assures Patrick Guinard.
The problem of resale on Le Bon Coin
There remains a major black point that will have to be resolved. On Le Bon Coin, the identification number is requested, but it is not mandatory, allowing anyone to resell a stolen bike. If it is marked or engraved, then it will have to get rid of traces of the identification code. “It’s not impossible but it leaves marks. This is why we prefer engraving to simple marking. Soon, everyone will have the reflex but it must be made known. Asking for the identification number allows everyone to check that the bike has not been stolen, ”says Angèle Radjagobal, head of the Bicycode sector at the Federation of Bicycle Users (FUB). The other limitation of identification concerns neighboring territories. As the system is only compulsory in France, it does not work abroad. It is enough for cross-border commuters to go to Belgium, Spain or Italy to make a stolen bicycle disappear. “The neighbors are watching us. We are in discussion but it is a subject which becomes political ”, slips the president of the Apic with a smile.