On Prado Avenue, a Friday rush hour around 5 p.m., Marseille’s police motorcyclists initially suspect a misread. Ahead of them, a powerful black SUV weaves through dense traffic, changing lanes with no apparent logic. The description is clear over the radios: “a car zigzagging dangerously.” As they close in, however, officers realize what is unfolding behind the wheel goes beyond a mere lack of confidence.
We are September 11, 2026, in the 8th district of Marseille, along one of the city’s busiest arteries. It is just after 5 p.m., the Prado’s rush hour. The patrol from the Motorcycle and Departmental Road Safety Brigade decides to shadow this unstable SUV. The vehicle in question is a black Audi Q7 — a large SUV about 5.07 meters long (roughly 16.6 feet) and weighing in at over two tons (more than 4,400 pounds). A nine-year-old child appears to be behind the wheel, steering this behemoth through traffic.
On Prado Avenue, a 9-year-old at the wheel of an Audi Q7
When the patrols reach the SUV, they encounter a scene the police would later describe as surreal. On Facebook, the Bouches-du-Rhône police depict the interior: “At the wheel, a nine-year-old child, not wearing a seat belt, trying to reach the pedals.” Beside him, the post continues, “his father is holding the steering wheel, another child on his knees.” The man, 53 years old, sits in the front passenger seat with a second boy resting on his thighs. The first child clamps the steering wheel and strains to reach the pedals, beltless, right in the middle of heavy traffic.
The officers choose to stay back, limiting their signaling to avoid provoking a sudden move from the young driver. The Audi zigzags into a side street, grazes or clips parked cars, before being guided toward Rue Jean‑Mermoz. The vehicle is eventually stopped “in a safe manner,” before 5:30 p.m., once it has cleared the most saturated portion of the avenue. A police official, quoted by La Dépêche, sums up the moment’s tension: “We avoided the worst,” speaking of the danger of “a major collision” on such a busy artery.
Detention, charges and the false air of supervised driving
After interception, the two younger boys are returned to their mother. The father, a 53-year-old Romanian national, is questioned and then recalled by investigators a few days later. On Wednesday, September 16, he is placed in custody on multiple counts, including “driving a vehicle without a license” and “complicity by aid and abetting the offense.” Police also note a “violation of weapons legislation.” A switchblade knife was found inside the cabin. According to the prosecutor, the man will face a Comparution sur reconnaissance préalable de culpabilité — effectively a guilty-plea proceeding — in January 2027.
Why take such a risk on a busy stretch like Prado Avenue on a Friday afternoon? The father said he wanted to teach his son the basics of driving, turning himself into an improvised instructor. The site even notes a possible confusion with the stickers that imply “supervised driving” on other cars. In reality, early driving instruction is authorized only from age 15, through an approved driving school. It has nothing to do with handing a two-ton SUV to a child during peak traffic.
