Clio and C3 cars between 2000 and 3000 euros: this garage resells confiscated vehicles from traffic offenders at bargain prices.

It's a win-win situation. After four months of efforts, Xavier Mestrallet, director of "Solidarauto 06"—a solidarity garage based in Nice —secured direct access to vehicles seized by the courts. "Last June, I wrote to the president of the court asking her to donate some of these vehicles to me. Within ten days, I had an appointment. Three weeks later, I met with the prosecutor himself," he told Le Figaro.

Behind this express partnership lies a reality little known to the general public: parking lots commissioned by the Judicial Court of Nice are overflowing with vehicles confiscated in connection with road traffic offenses: speeding, driving under the influence of drugs, drunk driving...