Vespa Parade Paris
What better surroundings for a Vespa parade than the great city of Paris? Stunning images and a fascinating report from this fabulous event.
On this gloriously hot and sunny day, we were collected from our hotel via a Piaggio Ape (kindly provided by Piaggio France) and taken to the meeting point, La Clinique du Scooter, a Vespa dealership in the heart of the city. There was a great representation of Vespa’s current lineup, to show what was for sale. It was good to meet with French, Belgian (Vespa Club Charleroi) and British scooterists. Mention must go to Carl and Gina from Wales who made the trip for the parade before heading back home again!
There were some amazing scooters parked up, including a Super Sprint, GS, cutdowns, PXs, GTSs, and even a couple of Lambrettas. A personal favourite was the scooter with the huge topbox on the back. The owner then lifted the lid to show us a honeycomb in there! We got to taste the honey straight off the comb. A bit different to my toolbox on my scooter!
At 12 noon a grand cavalcade set off through the streets of Paris, horns blaring all the way. At some points the scooters were getting more attention and photographs than the landmarks that were being passed. At some of the grand restaurants the waiters and maitre’ds were coming out to see what on earth was going on. There was a couple just married who were having their wedding photos done by the Seine, the parade took the attention away from them as it passed!
After riding for a while, including past the Louvre, there was a short stop at the Hotel des Invalides, a very grand building indeed, for a break and photos. Here the scooters were counted, and there was a total of 180. It has to be said that trying to take photos from the back of a moving Ape while standing, driven by a very excitable Fawzii, was a little tricky, but great fun nonetheless, even if I had to keep sitting down to avoid the attentions of the police.
Then the parade re-proceeded, heading towards the Eiffel Tower. The scooters all parked in the shadow of this iconic landmark. On arrival there was a very cool outdoor bar with great prizes donated by Vespa France, La Clinique du Scooter, Three Stroke Productions, SIP Scootershop, Belstaff, Helmo Helmets, Wild Magazine, Wheel Secure and Blauer. Prizes from these sponsors included helmets, jackets, engine bits and bobs, you can imagine the calibre of the prizes. Apparently one of the prizes for last year’s parade was a trip to Tuscany! All the riders registered beforehand which then entered them into the draw. After this was done, everyone headed to Bal de la Marine, a restaurant boat on the Seine for a feast and some wine and coffee. When in France!
This was a great rideout organised by the Vespa Club of Paris and the Vulcan Scooter Club, especially Oliver, Lionel and Xavier. Thanks must go to all members of these clubs for their incredibly friendly welcome, and their brilliant English, as my French leaves a lot to be desired. Some of this comes from the travelling to English rallies ‘back in the day’.
This is a great parade, well organised and well supported. One word though, the Parisians are a little ‘wilder’ at driving and riding than in the UK, so it’s not a rideout for the faint-hearted… We travelled by Eurostar, very quick and easy. Once getting off at Gard du Nord station it’s not far to the meeting point, so well worth looking into if anyone fancies this. Can’t wait until next year!
Photographs: courtesy of Ghost Photography