France orders immobilisation of 800,000 vehicles over Takata airbag risk – while enforcement gaps appear across the EU

French authorities have mandated the immediate immobilisation—via “stop drive” orders—of 800,000 vehicles equipped with potentially deadly Takata airbags. The move follows the death of a woman in Reims, believed to have been caused by metal fragments expelled from a defective inflator. France has now ordered the immobilisation of 1.7 million vehicles, with 2.5 million subject to recall notices overall.

Despite the common identification of defective Takata airbags across EU member states, responses vary significantly. For example, Cyprus has reportedly ignored 57 safety alerts issued via the EU’s Safety Gate rapid alert system since 2019, without launching national recalls or investigations.

These discrepancies highlight the EU’s fragmented approach to safety recalls. Identical vehicles with the same life-threatening fault can remain on the road in one country while being forcibly off-road in another. While EU regulation requires manufacturers to recall unsafe vehicles, national enforcement and follow-up remain inconsistent.

The European Commission has recently proposed to revise the Periodic Technical Inspection (PTI) framework in the EU. Ensuring that unrepaired recall vehicles cannot pass inspection could provide a powerful and consistent enforcement tool across the EU.