Increase in road deaths in July: government announces "control operations" this weekend

Road traffic fatalities increased sharply (+23%) in July in mainland France compared to the same month last year, the French Road Safety Authority announced on Thursday, August 14. According to estimates from the National Interministerial Road Safety Observatory, 338 people died on French roads last month, compared to 275 in July 2024. This is also more than in July 2023 (305 deaths) but less than in July 2022 (354).

This increase concerns all road networks, whether in built-up areas, in the countryside or on motorways, Road Safety specified in a press release.

This assessment is considered "very worrying" by François-Noël Buffet , Minister to the Minister of the Interior, who denounces "an unacceptable relaxation of driving behavior." "In the coming days, I will send prefects an instruction aimed at strengthening control operations, particularly targeting risky behavior," he indicated, calling for "redoubled vigilance" during the weekend of August 15.

The number of seriously injured people (1,644 people) nevertheless fell by 5% in July compared to the previous year in mainland France. On overseas roads, the number of personal injury accidents increased by 25%, with 28 deaths, 13 more than during the same period last year.