Man Facing Deportation After Being Hit by Drunk Driver Protected by Diplomatic Immunity

A Filipino delivery driver in Paris is facing deportation after being involved in a car accident with a Chinese embassy employee who was driving over France’s drink-driving limit.

The embassy worker, who holds diplomatic immunity, is not facing charges.

French newspaper Le Parisien reported that the accident, which happened on the 18th of May, led to the 30-year-old undocumented delivery driver being investigated by police and ordered to leave the country.

He was also taken to hospital for his injuries and has been unable to recover his destroyed motorcycle. 

A witness told French television station BFMTV that a car with diplomatic plates collided with a delivery driver on a motorcycle and crushed him. The witness also claimed that the driver responsible for the accident attempted to escape after being removed from the vehicle.

The embassy worker, who is understood to be a cook, attempted to evade a blood alcohol test for two hours before he was found to be over the drink-driving limit. 

International laws around diplomatic immunity protect diplomatic staff from arrest or detention unless they are caught in the act of committing a crime. 

A specialist in international law told the French outlet ACTUS Forces de L’ordre that the embassy employee “risks absolutely nothing” because “a diplomat has criminal protection against all traffic prosecutions.”

Though the driver was carrying an Uber Eats bag during the accident, a spokesperson told Le Parisien that the driver was not performing a ride for them when the collision happened. 

The case is ongoing.