This archive report was first published on 2 July 2021.
On July 2, 2021, a mass pileup occurred during the Tour de France, leaving dozens of cyclists injured and one with fractured hands. The incident was caused by a 30-year-old woman who held up a large cardboard sign with the words 'Go! Grandpa and granny' in front of the cyclists.
The woman, who has not been named, was arrested on July 7, 2021, five days after the accident. According to local prosecutor Camille Miansoni, the woman expressed her feelings of shame and fear about the consequences of her act.
She told investigators that she was worried about the huge public interest in her case and had called her actions 'stupidity.' The woman had gone to watch the race with her partner as it passed several kilometers from their home in rural Brittany.
The message on her sign was intended for her grandparents who were watching on TV at home. Miansoni added that the woman had no previous criminal record and a decision would be made shortly on whether to charge her with putting others in danger through negligence and causing unintentional bodily harm.
Earlier on July 7, 2021, the organiser of the Tour de France race said it was withdrawing its legal complaint against her. 'The incident has been blown out of all proportion,' director Christian Prudhomme told AFP. 'So we'd like to calm things down now that the message has got across that the roadside fans need to be careful.'
