In Montargis (Loiret), “we don’t really want to party” for July 14, assures the mayor, Benoît Digeon (Les Républicains, LR). Two weeks after the riots which followed the death of Nahel M., 17, killed by a police officer during a road check on June 27 in Nanterre, “we are still in the process of raising the city”, reports the elected official 70 years old, without concealing his annoyance.
Eighty stores in this town of 15,000 inhabitants were damaged and fifteen looted on the night of June 29 to 30. Two other buildings, one of which housed a pharmacy, were set on fire. “It will take us a little time to erase the traces [of urban violence] and cash in on all this,” summarizes Mr. Digeon. In this context, the city councilor canceled the fireworks and the balls scheduled for the evening of July 13. In the absence of police reinforcements – “The State is abandoning us”, he says – the mayor prefers to “play the card of caution”. Also, he doesn’t want to “overstretch” “exhausted” municipal officers and firefighters.
“The elected officials and residents I met on the ground are indeed quite worried about the National Day and possible new incidents”, admitted the Prime Minister, Elisabeth Borne, in an interview with Le Parisien, Saturday July 8. As a result, the head of government promised that “massive” security means would be deployed for the occasion. In addition, a decree published on Sunday prohibits until July 15 inclusive for individuals the “sale”, “carry” and “transport” of fireworks mortars, very popular with rioters. This ban does not apply to professionals or municipalities that organize fireworks for the national holiday, it is specified.
Precautionary principle
But the words of the Prime Minister were not enough to reassure all the elected officials. Like Montargis, other municipalities, struck following the riots or fearing a new conflagration, have decided to give up the July 14 festivities. Moreover, “we must unfortunately expect a resurgence of urban violence” on the weekend of July 14, said Wednesday July 12 on Franceinfo, Grégory Joron, national secretary of the SGP-Police Unit of Force Ouvrière, first union of peacekeepers.
To prevent incidents, the Minister of the Interior, Gérald Darmanin, communicated on Wednesday on the deployment of an “exceptional device” of “130,000 police officers, gendarmes and firefighters” on July 13 and 14. Every evening, “45,000 police and gendarmes will be specifically mobilized to fight against violence”, he added, while several cities had already announced that they would give up the festivities.
Thus, “due to the context and the unfavorable opinions of the national police”, Savigny-sur-Orge (Essonne), which experienced a restless night from June 29 to 30, warned its inhabitants of the cancellation of the fire. July 13 firework. Just like Bussy-Saint-Georges (Seine-et-Marne), Rosny-sous-Bois (Seine-Saint-Denis) or Nanterre, epicenter of the riots. Yet spared from the unrest, the towns of Maisons-Alfort, Charenton-le-Pont and Saint-Maurice (Val-de-Marne) took a similar decision, “as a precaution” and due to “significant security constraints”. . “It is therefore with regret, but in all conscience and responsibility that the mayors have made this choice”, insist the elected officials in a press release.
Residents “a little flabbergasted”
“Of course it’s not lighthearted,” says the LR mayor of Aulnay-sous-Bois (Seine-Saint-Denis), Bruno Beschizza, who also drew a line under his fireworks. “The elected officials face contradictory injunctions: on the one hand to reaffirm the symbols of the Republic on this national holiday, and on the other to ensure the safety of the inhabitants”, explains the 55-year-old city councilor. “Not sure of being able to count on the support of the State” in order to organize the event “serenely”, this former police commander favored tranquility. The firefighters also announced that they were canceling their traditional ball. “I’d rather know them on deck, just in case,” he slips.
In addition, Mr. Beschizza highlights a city marked by “the stigmata” of the riots, with inhabitants “a little flabbergasted and who want calm”. The town of 90,000 inhabitants has indeed been hard hit by the violence. Part of the City of 3000 was plunged into darkness by the rioters. Young hooded men blocked rue Delacroix, an axis that crosses the city, with barricades and caused significant damage. Many vehicles and three convenience stores, in particular, were set on fire. A bus was hijacked and then burned. “Fireworks cost the price of a bus, that’s it,” laments Mr. Beschizza, who is asking the state for emergency resources to restore public services.
In some cities, the security context has added to another problem: the risk of fire linked to the drought. Thus, the prefecture of Val-d’Oise has prohibited fireworks within two hundred meters of a wooded area. A condition that greatly complicates the organization of the festivities in Jouy-le-Moutier, as the mayor, Hervé Florczak (various left), writes on Facebook: “In search of a new place (…) we were almost there until until the latest events [that made it] inconceivable to hold a fireworks display. »