The night was calm. There was a “significant drop” in damage during the July 14 festivities, which took place this year under close surveillance after the recent riots, assured, this Saturday, July 15, the Minister of the Interior Gérald Darmanin. “Popular festivals, concerts and fireworks were able to take place everywhere in France with a significant drop in damage compared to 2022”, tweeted the Minister of the Interior.
According to the provisional report of the Ministry of the Interior established at 5:30 a.m., the night from Friday to Saturday was “on the whole calmer than the previous year”. A total of 255 burned vehicles were recorded, against 423 last year, the ministry said. There were 96 arrests and 7 police officers, gendarmes and firefighters injured, compared to 21 in 2022. Some “51 uses of fireworks against the police” were counted, compared to 333 in 2022.
In Paris and the inner suburbs, there were “62 property fires”, a “70% drop” compared to last year, said the police headquarters. A total of 53 people (-80%) were arrested in this area, added the police headquarters. In Paris, there were 42 people placed in police custody, including 12 minors, in particular for participation in a group formed with a view to damage or violence, violence against a person holding public authority and voluntary damage, said the prosecution. .
An important safety device
The Ministry of the Interior had already observed a drop in damage during the night of July 13, traditionally also marked by incidents. Like the day before, 45,000 police and gendarmes, including, for the first time on July 14, elite units, were mobilized on Saturday evening. A total of 130,000 “specially equipped and organized” law enforcement personnel are mobilized over the weekend. In Paris, around 10,000 police and gendarmes were on the ground, in the capital and its neighboring departments.
As of Thursday evening, Laurent Nuñez, the prefect of police of Paris, had evoked the deployment of more numerous personnel and increased means to “cross” the Île-de-France. “We fear nothing at all but there is caution,” he replied on BFMTV. A device similar to that deployed during the violence following the death of 17-year-old Nahel, killed by the shooting of a police officer during a road check in Nanterre on June 27. About 165,000 firework mortars, very popular with rioters, have been seized since June 27, it was said on Saturday Place Beauvau. As of last Sunday, the executive had published a decree which prohibited, until July 15 inclusive, the “sale”, the “port” and the “transport of fireworks mortars”, frequently used by the perpetrators of this violence.
Note that several municipalities had also decided to give up their fireworks, especially in Île-de-France and in the North. Example with Maisons-Alfort and Charenton-le-Pont. But in Paris, the town hall kept the party going around the Eiffel Tower in front of a dense crowd. In the capital, the fireworks were held as traditionally on the Champ-de-Mars in front of a dense crowd. According to the town hall of Paris, like last year, the secure area could accommodate 70,000 people to attend a large classical concert and then the pyrotechnic show that followed for about twenty minutes, shortly before midnight.
However, demonstrations “in connection with the riots” remain prohibited until July 15 inclusive, announced Gérald Darmanin. The rally organized in memory of Adama Traoré will therefore not be authorized this Saturday at Place de la République in Paris.