Nearly 1,000 cars were set on fire on New Year’s Eve in France and more than 400 people were detained. In numerous incidents, as if that wasn’t enough, fireworks were thrown at law enforcement and firefighters.
“This violence is the product of ferocity embodied by cowards, gangsters who attack the property of Frenchmen, who are often modest in their means, who have no way to protect their vehicles in private parking lots,” the interior minister said, calling for an “adequate” judicial response. In Lyon, for example, a two-year-old girl was injured in her face and eyes when a lit firework hit her stroller. Another person was hospitalized in critical condition also due to an incident involving fireworks.
Earlier, the prefecture reported that about 10,000 law enforcement officers were involved in the work in the Paris area during the holidays. In France, a total of 90,000 law enforcement officers were on the streets during this period.
Bruno Retayo, head of France’s interior ministry, called on prefects and security services to be extremely vigilant during year-end celebrations “in the context of the high-level terrorist threat hovering over the country” and “the rise of international tensions.”
Translated and edited by L. Earth
