How much will France’s new contrôle technique for motorbikes cost?

[Update December 1 at 09:50 - It has now been reported that the transport ministry is planning to introduce a simplified two-wheeler CT from June 2023, costing less than €50, before gradually phasing in the full test in the following months.]

Reader Question: Do you know how much the new contrôle technique tests for motorbikes will cost when the requirement comes into effect?

After several reversals and periods of confusion, France is set to bring in a contrôle technique (CT) roadworthiness test requirement for two and three-wheeled vehicles over 125cc in 2023.

However, one professional association has said that the process will take at least two years to implement, and pro-motorbike campaigners have said there are still too many unanswered questions.

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The cost of the CT has not yet been confirmed.

At a protest last week, a Fédération française des motards en colère spokesperson said: “We are not going to pay €30 to have someone do this every two or four years, it’s absurd!”

Affected vehicles would need a CT for the first time in the six months leading up to the fourth anniversary of their entering into circulation, and then every two years after that.

However, some experts estimate that the price will be between €50 and €70 – so less than the cost of a car CT – Auto-Moto reports.

It is thought that further details will emerge as the practicalities of the two-wheeler CT are established.

The CT for two-wheeled vehicles: A timeline

• July 2021: European directive imposes a CT on two and three-wheeled motor vehicles over 125cc, in a bid to reduce accidents and pollution
• August 11, 2021: France publishes a decree introducing, from January 1, 2023 (not from January 1, 2022 as set by European law) a requirement for a CT every two years on all two-wheelers and licence-free cars
• August 12, 2021: President Macron says that “now is not the time to annoy the French” and has the decree suspended
• May 17, 2022: The Conseil d’État issues a ruling in which it considers that a postponement of the CT obligation is "not justified" beyond October 1, 2022
• July 26, 2022: The government responds by repealing the August 2021 decree, effectively cancelling the CT for two-wheelers. It argues that a clause in European legislation allows it to take alternative measures
• October 31, 2022: The Conseil d’État challenges this July decree, and says that the cancellation of the CT should only have been done after a public consultation. It says that the measures suggested by the government and motorbike federations as an alternative to the CT “do not comply” with European requirements.

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