A French magistrate is facing a professional standards hearing after he admitted dodging at least 200 motorway toll fares through ‘tailgating’ on his scooter.
The 47-year-old magistrate, sitting in Marseille, has already admitted fraud offences relating to more than 200 incidences of dodging motorway tolls.
He was fined €16,000 and given a 14 month suspended prison sentence after admitting to cheating the péage toll system 173 times in the Prado Carénage tunnel, and a further 23 times on the Vinci motorway network between 2023 and 2025.
The court had heard that he avoided being snapped by the toll booth cameras by tailgating the vehicle in front on his scooter – but had also contested several charges that were applied and had several times filed criminal complaints falsely alleging that his number plate had been stolen, hence invalidating the tolls.
He was eventually caught after a police officer spotted him running a red light and followed him to the courthouse, where he worked as a magistrate, after beginning his career as a prosecutor.
He is now subject to a professional standards hearing where members of the Bar Council will decide whether he should be allowed to continue his work as a magistrate.
