Barcelona mayor is slapped with a fine after using his bike in a no-cycling zone during a promotional video

THE mayor of Barcelona was forced to pay a €100 fine on World Bicycle Day after he rode his bike in a no-cycling zone during a promotional video for the celebration.

Jaume Collboni, a member of the Catalan branch of Pedro Sanchez’s ruling PSOE socialists, fell foul of his own rules after eagle-eyed onlookers spotted the city mayor cycling past a sign which asked cyclists to dismount and walk.

The mayor, alongside Catalan Socialist Party (PSC) councillor David Escude, was hit with a €100 fine for the infringement, which took place on Carrer d’Avinyo in the city’s Gothic Quarter.

The fine was reduced to €50 by the Guardia Urbana as Collboni himself reported the infringement to police.

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He was also handed a lesser fine after agreeing to stump up the cash the following day.

Collboni is not the first mayor of Barcelona to brush with the law thanks to the city’s stringent transport rules – in 1996, Pasqual Maragull, the mayor famous for running the successful 1992 Olympics bid, was slapped with a fine of 5,000 pesetas after he cycled down the Rambla de Catalunya.

Likewise, Maragull’s fine was halved after he agreed to pay the fee promptly.