Because of a far-reaching ban on firecrackers in Alsace, many French people from the region near the border in Germany are stocking up on fireworks, firecrackers and rockets. Since a ban on the sale of fireworks came into force on December 4th, 850 kilos of banned fireworks have been discovered by police and customs in the Haut-Rhin department alone, said prefect Thierry Queffélec in Mulhouse, as broadcaster BFMTV reported on Saturday.
On Friday alone, investigators in the city confiscated 18,500 fireworks weighing around 500 kilos, which may have come from Germany. France’s Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin spoke of a record amount. The suspect, who according to a report in the newspaper “Dernières Nouvelles d’Alsace” was in Germany at the time of the search of an annex, is said to have sold the firecrackers, which are banned in Alsace, via social networks. The value of the fireworks was estimated at around 200,000 euros.
The small border traffic regarding firecrackers also works in the other direction, as the newspaper “Le Républicain Lorrain” reported. In Lorraine, where the rules for fireworks are less strict than in Alsace and there is also a sale, a number of Saarlanders mingled with the customers. As a fireworks dealer in Stiring-Wendel, right on the border near Saarbrücken, told the newspaper, the firecrackers are often cheaper in Germany, but fireworks batteries in France contain more powder than in Germany, which attracts customers across the border.
In France, many municipalities have banned banging for fire safety reasons or out of fear of riots, such as Paris and Strasbourg. Certain categories of fireworks are reserved for professionals anyway. Many cities have organized fireworks shows instead. The most famous is certainly the one on the Champs-Élysées in Paris, where a million people welcomed the New Year last year.
Report BFMTV Report DNA Report Le Républicain Lorrain
