Police in 220kph motorway chase round Paris

Four young men have been arrested after a police chase at speeds of up to 220kph on roads west of Paris that covered 100km and lasted for 45min – until they ran out of fuel.

They hijacked a Range-Rover Evoque 4x4 after mugging a man in Vitry (Val-de-Marne), south-east of Paris, and were on the motorway heading to Belgium when they were spotted.

Police believe the men had targeted the in-demand Range-Rover and it was stolen-to-order to be passed on in Antwerp and then sent on to Africa or the Middle East.

French anti-gang police spotted the car at the junction of the A4 and A86 about 2.00 and followed until reinforcements arrived from Seine-Saint-Denis … and then the chase started.

Travelling at about 160kph, the Range-Rover stuck mostly to the outside lane and police told Le Parisien that they “did not zig-zag, they even put on the indicators when they were changing lane”.

But when they reached the quieter A3 and A1 the robbers upped the pace and slower police cars had to pull out – leaving just the high-speed Brigade Anti-Criminalité vehicles to keep up the chase at up to 220kph.

Breaking through a péage barrier at Chamant, Oise, they carried on for a further 60km before having to pull in on the hard shoulder at Roye on the A1 north of Paris, with just fumes in the tank.

Le Parisien reported that police said one of the robbers had even apologised to them.