Mystery surrounds the slogan spray-painted in the colours of the Ukrainian Simaia on parked cars in the heart of Lyon, causing both wonder and consternation among French citizens.

Many owners see the phrase “Ukraine needs your car” written on their cars, according to an article in the French newspaper Le Figaro.

The article points out that the colors of the war-torn country’s flag – blue and yellow – set the tone for strangers who choose to send a message to the country being bombed by the Russians by painting paint on their vehicles.

🚨 Attention ! 🚨

Des inscriptions pseudo pro-Ukraine apparaissent sur des voitures en France. Ce sont des manipulations d’agents russes actifs ici.

Restons vigilants et unis ! ✊🇫🇷🇪🇺🇺🇦 pic.twitter.com/Rx6EvK3qon

— Kogutyak Volodymyr (@KogutyakV) October 21, 2024

The article also reports that, to date, ten complaints have been lodged in Lyon as the Russian war in Ukraine rages on with developments looking bleak for an immediate ceasefire.

The mysterious slogan was spray-painted on cars parked mainly in Lyon and Villeurban, the second-largest community in the city’s metropolitan area and the 20th most populous in France.

The most populous city in the city and the 20th largest in the city in terms of population

The most populous city in the city and the 20th largest in the city.
At the same time, the police services of the Interdepartmental Directorate of the Rhone National Police (DIPN 69) confirmed to Le Figaro “that several cars were found in Lyon that was spray-painted” and that “around ten complaints were lodged”.

French authorities have ordered an investigation to identify the perpetrators and understand their motives.

The slogan in other cities as well

The metropolis of Lyon is not the first city to see these messages appear. Since October, cities such as Menton and Montpellier have spotted the same phrase on vehicles.

At dawn on October 23, in Mendon, about 50 vehicles were painted with the colors of Ukrainian significance while in Montpellier 47 were painted with the colors.

For now, authorities have no idea of the motives of the perpetrators who spray-painted dozens of cars in Molière’s country.

According to the French network TF1, three Serbian nationals, who had recently visited France, were arrested in Mendon in early October.

Meanwhile, the Lyon prosecutor’s office has ordered an investigation to shed light on the case referring to the Blue Stars of David painted on the walls of Paris and suburbs of the country by unidentified men in November 2023.

At the time, Russian security services were behind those messages, according to French police authorities.

Lyon, capital of the Rhône-Alpes region, is France’s third largest city after Marseille and is located where the Rhône River meets the Son River.