Overview
- A 31-year-old motorist was placed under formal investigation and pretrial detention for vehicular homicide after a 19-year-old was killed in Lille, with investigators reporting he had inhaled nitrous oxide and bottles found in the car.
- Deputy Vincent Ledoux urged lawmakers to define nitrous-oxide driving as a specific offense in the highway code and to enable measures such as vehicle and cylinder seizures.
- The Senate voted in March to penalize misuse of nitrous oxide, and the final scope of the law now hinges on negotiations between the two chambers.
- Addiction specialists warn that even low doses can impair motor coordination and perception, with short-lived euphoria followed by potential severe fatigue and a risk of loss of consciousness from food-grade products lacking oxygen.
- Police struggle to establish recent use because routine blood or saliva tests are not available and the gas dissipates quickly, while tests cited in the UK and Netherlands are being examined as possible models.