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I'm not sure where this myth comes from but in France, although it's not a crime to slightly bump the car in front or before by mistake while parking if there i

I'm not sure where this myth comes from but in France, although it's not a crime to slightly bump the car in front or before by mistake while parking if there isn't much space, it would be very much frowned upon to do it with enough force to actually move the other cars. Using the handbrake while the car is parked is universal, and in most modern cars the handbrake activates automatically, so it would likely cause actual damage to try and move the other cars with your own. It's also not uncommon for people to put their car in 1st gear on purpose when parked (in my experience, mostly older people who don't fully trust handbrakes) so you'd be unlikely to move those at all. It wouldn't be legal in any case, although I suppose it would be difficult to be covered by insurance without video evidence. If it happens when you aren't there then tough luck, but if you saw someone touch your car while parking you would go to them, check for damage and if there is indeed any damage you would both fill a constat d'accident (standardised European Accident Statement) to let your insurances sort it out.

teh_klev 5y ago
> It's also not uncommon for people to put their car in 1st gear on purpose when parked (in my experience, mostly older people who don't fully trust handbrakes) Having been a Saab owner, a habit I can't break is leaving my car in reverse (my Volvo's reverse gear position is the same as Saab's) with the handbrake on (a fairly universal thing in the UK).
DocTomoe 5y ago
Hm, personally, I got warned about this by my French language teacher. And the fact that there are videos of this "bumper-parking" happening [1][2][3] made it believable. Just over the border, touching a car like that is not a crime - but an accident (and leaving from an accident site without contacting the owner of the other vehicle OR the police is a crime). [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xkCyepivokQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xkCyepivokQ [2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n51OdFlOi1o https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n51OdFlOi1o [3] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lA09matde2Y https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lA09matde2Y
- seszett 5y ago
  All cars bumping others in your videos are already pretty damaged though and they are all in Paris, which is pretty much agreed upon in France to be home of the worst drivers in the country. I'm not surprised their drivers are doing this, but that doesn't make it a normal thing to do. Also, the "c'est normal en France" comments and applause in the second video are obviously sarcastic. These are 100% just bad drivers that are lucky the owners of the other cars weren't here (and would have probably fled in that case). As I said, this behaviour results in filling an accident statement if the victim is present (and if actual damage is observed of course).

teh_klev 5y ago

> It's also not uncommon for people to put their car in 1st gear on purpose when parked (in my experience, mostly older people who don't fully trust handbrakes) Having been a Saab owner, a habit I can't break is leaving my car in reverse (my Volvo's reverse gear position is the same as Saab's) with the handbrake on (a fairly universal thing in the UK).

DocTomoe 5y ago

Hm, personally, I got warned about this by my French language teacher. And the fact that there are videos of this "bumper-parking" happening [1][2][3] made it believable. Just over the border, touching a car like that is not a crime - but an accident (and leaving from an accident site without contacting the owner of the other vehicle OR the police is a crime). [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xkCyepivokQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xkCyepivokQ [2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n51OdFlOi1o https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n51OdFlOi1o [3] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lA09matde2Y https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lA09matde2Y

seszett 5y ago
All cars bumping others in your videos are already pretty damaged though and they are all in Paris, which is pretty much agreed upon in France to be home of the worst drivers in the country. I'm not surprised their drivers are doing this, but that doesn't make it a normal thing to do. Also, the "c'est normal en France" comments and applause in the second video are obviously sarcastic. These are 100% just bad drivers that are lucky the owners of the other cars weren't here (and would have probably fled in that case). As I said, this behaviour results in filling an accident statement if the victim is present (and if actual damage is observed of course).