Mille Tibesar’s Motorcycle Feat: The Saigon-Paris Raid
It was accomplished on a 350 cc F.N. (motorcycle) by a 22-year-old young woman. It is yet another fine page in our motorcycling sports history that a 22-year-old young woman, Mille Justine Tibesar, has written by completing the 22,000-kilometer Saigon-Paris raid on her own.
One can imagine the difficulties of such an achievement and the true feat that such a journey represents through regions as diverse as Indochina, Cambodia, Siam, and India.
[A photo of Mille Justine Tibesar is placed here.]
Mille Tibesar, a Belgian, traveled through Persia, Mesopotamia, Syria, Turkey, and Europe, from Constantinople to Paris, covering a total of 22,000 kilometers. The young woman was acclaimed upon her arrival in Paris by a group of athletes and personalities.
Noblesse oblige, Mille Tibesar had to cross three desert regions and passes over 3,000 meters high in the Himalayan range, where she was blocked for three days by a snowstorm. 22,000 kilometers—here, a remarkable feat.
Credits for the Newspaper Article:
Title: "Le raid Saigon-Paris vient d’être réalisé à moto" (translated as "The Saigon-Paris Raid Has Just Been Accomplished on a Motorcycle")
Subject: Mille Justine Tibesar
Publication: Saigon-Sportif
Issue: No. 1,050
Publication Date: November 27, 1931
Author: Not specified, likely a staff journalist or correspondent for Saigon-Sportif
Language: French
Source: Bibliothèque nationale de France (gallica.bnf.fr). File: 19311127 Saigon-Sportif newspaper article Justine Tibesar Le raid Saigon-Paris vient d'etre realise a moto.
Saigon-Sportif was a French-language weekly sports newspaper based in Saigon, Vietnam, during the French colonial period. Starting around 1910-1911, it initially covered sporting, social, and literary topics before becoming Sportif Illustré, focusing on sports for the colonial elite.
Mesopotamia, historically, refers to the region between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, primarily encompassing modern-day Iraq. It also includes parts of northeastern Syria, southeastern Turkey, and southwestern Iran. In the context of Mille Tibesar's 1931 Saigon-Paris motorcycle journey, as noted in this *Saigon-Sportif* article, Mesopotamia likely refers to the area that was then the Kingdom of Iraq, under a British mandate until 1932. She would have passed through this region, possibly via cities like Baghdad, while traveling from Persia (modern Iran) toward Syria en route to Europe. Known as the "Cradle of Civilization," Mesopotamia was home to ancient cultures like Sumer, Babylon, and Assyria.
"Noblesse oblige" is a French phrase that translates to "nobility obliges." It means that those with privilege, status, or power have a moral duty to act honorably and responsibly, often by helping those less fortunate or behaving with integrity. In the context of Mille Tibesar's Saigon-Paris motorcycle journey in this *Saigon-Sportif* article, the phrase likely underscores her determination and bravery as a young woman undertaking such a challenging feat, implying that her status as a bold adventurer came with the responsibility to overcome the journey's hardships—like crossing deserts and Himalayan passes—through sheer grit, reflecting well on her character and the expectations placed upon her.
