Article from: www.thenewspaper.com/news/71/7101.asp

11/29/2021
Photo Radar Unrest Spreads In France, Germany, Italy
French overseas departments saw a spike in speed camera destruction last week. A handful of cameras were attacked in Germany and Italy.

Italian speed camera sign knocked downBy Richard Diamond/Staff Reports
Tensions continued in overseas French departments as vigilantes outraged by the government's reaction to the Covid-19 virus scare engaged in violent protest. Every speed camera used across seventeen locations in Guadeloupe, an archipelago in the Caribbean, has been destroyed or disabled. In light of the developments, local officials are no longer promising to install red light cameras. On the island of Martinique, a vigilante during a night of unrest Saturday attempted to grab the speed camera in Fort-de-France but was thwarted when police drove by. On Reunion, an island in East Africa, speed cameras on the RN3 in Saint Pierre and Saint-Paul were torched on Thursday. Back on the mainland in Briord, vigilantes on Thursday used a stack of tires to set fire to the pole-mounted "turret" speed camera on the RD19.

In Guidonia, Italy, vigilantes realized they do not need to attack a speed camera directly to keep it from issuing automated tickets, since citations are not legally valid unless a warning sign is posted. On Friday, the sign on the Via delle Gerbere was ripped from the ground and tossed on the side of the road. On Thursday, photo radar warning signs on the Via delle Gerbere were knocked down. Signs on the Via della Longarina, Via Mario Di Trani, and two signs on the Via Trento were covered with black spraypaint. On Wednesday, a group in Laives ripped apart the speed camera on the Via John Fitzgerald Kennedy.

In Bielefeld, Germany, a 23-year-old man hurled a manhole cover at the speed camera on Artur-Ladebeck-Strasse on Monday, November 22. According to police, the device was only slightly damaged by the attack.