This is unprecedented, despite other grandes villes like Paris and Marseilles already having a stable Vélo system in place.

What it really shows is the rapid increase of delinquency and anti-social behaviour in the city.

The security problems don’t lie with the Vélo company, Veloway, the affiliate of Veolia, but are really a consequence of the bad choices the Mayor Christian Estrosi has made since 2008.

Stop him, he’s getting away! (Estrosi)

For ideological reasons, Estrosi has constantly refused to increase the numbers of local policemen out on the streets to keep order in the city.

Instead, he persists to funnel investment into video surveillance and the over-equipment of existing police officers, such as his project to give them all tasers to play with.

Patrick Allemand, leader of the Opposition in the Conseil Municipal (Town Hall), said (in French):

The citizens of Nice do not need a « Robocop » but a human presence which dissuades crime and reassures citizens.

Furthermore, I have not seen one person wearing a helmet while riding these bikes. Not in the street, not in the adverts, not even Estrosi… though that might be a good thing!

The aim was fairly simple; I wanted to buy a month-pass for the Tram, so that I could easily get around the city wherever and whenever my job needs me.

Entering, I head to reception and say “I want to by a month-pass.” Immediately, the receptionist told me to head to the ticket booths. No problem there.

The ensuing exchange was very Monty Pythonesque; with me going back and forth with various different bits of paper. Eventually I was given a piece of paper that informed me of all the other pieces of paper I had to find. Rather like a treasure map I suppose.

A week later, I returned with my application form, my passport, a photocopy of said passport, my housing contract, a photocopy of that, a bank identity slip, and my debit card. I got my pass in the end.

That’s my best example of la bureaucratie. In fact, obtaining a bank account was much simpler, as the procedure was simply “sign this, and this and this and this and…”

However, the classic example is the CAF, which is literally Free Money for all those who can navigate the paper labyrinth. If you say “bureaucracy” to a French person, there response will be “Have you heard of CAF?”

I’ve thought about it for a little while, but I can’t really come up with any explanation as to why such a system exists. There are plenty of made-up jobs around, of course, but it doesn’t combat unemployment, a chronic problem in France.

Still, it’s better than my experience with the Bath Students’ Union.