Politician caught speeding at 171kph

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JUST days after Sécurité Routière lauched a TV campaign to reduce road accidents over the festive season the president of Ile-de-France region has been flashed at 171kph on the A13 - and lost his licence.

Reports say Jean-Paul Huchon was caught speeding on the 130kph autoroute near Evreux, Eure, and stopped by gendarmes.

Last week Sécurité Routière unveiled a TV advert with two minutes of shock images to show drivers - and especially young drivers - the dangers of the road and drink-driving. It was launched just before the start of the Toussaint holiday break and is being shown between 20.00 and 22.00 on eight channels.

Huchon is not the first driver to be caught driving at high speeds with journalists from Auto Hebdo reporting the habits of the candidates in the 2007 presidential election: Nicolas Sarkozy was followed at 190kph on the autoroute, Jean-Marie Le Pen at 185kph, François Bayrou at 120kph on a 70kph road and Ségolène Royal at 158kph on a dual-carriageway limited to 110kph.

Other politicians have been flashed at high speeds with health minister Xavier Bertrand penalised for 140kph on the 90kph road between Pornic and Nantes last year, foreign minister Alain Juppé was caught at 105kph on a 90kph stretch of the A10 and Green campaigner and Euro-MP José Bové who was flashed at 135kph on a 90kph road.