Bruno Beschizza, the mayor of Aulnay-sous-Bois, has decided to cancel the July 14 fireworks display in his town, due to the risk of violence.
“Guarantee the protection“Aulnaysiens for the July 14 festivities,”today, I don’t feel capable of it“, affirmed Bruno Beschizza, mayor of Aulnay-sous-Bois (Seine-Saint-Denis). The elected official decided to cancel the fireworks and the ball of the firemen in his commune initially planned. the Interior, Gérald Darmanin, announced on Wednesday July 12 a “exceptional device“with 130,000 police, gendarmes and firefighters mobilized over the two days.”I am not sure that the police forces present, as announced by the Ministry of the Interior, will not all be in Paris“, he explained. The mayor referred to “amazement” and the “trauma“of the inhabitants of his commune during the urban riots of June, of a”bewildering violence“. As a result, Bruno Beschizza is not, according to him, “able to ensure the protection of Aulnaysiens who want to party with their children“, he justified.
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franceinfo: Why did you remove fireworks in your city?
Bruno Beschizza : I have heard all the measures announced by the Minister of the Interior. I do not question his good faith, nor the voluntarism of the police forces. But in Seine-Saint-Denis, we felt very, very alone the first two nights, when 150 individuals attacked a municipal police. I had a central kitchen and 50 municipal vehicles burned, 54 cameras destroyed, an annex town hall looted. All this when there were actually on paper, announced in the media, a lot of law enforcement. When you organize a fireworks display in Seine-Saint-Denis, in Aulnay-sous-Bois in particular, 10,000 people gather in the same place. I have to be able to guarantee them protection, but today I don’t feel capable of it. I am not sure that the police forces present, as announced by the Ministry of the Interior, will not all be in Paris and will not be in Seine-Saint-Denis.
“From the moment when I am not able to ensure the protection of Aulnaysiens who want to party with their children, I prefer to suppress the fireworks.”
Bruno Beschizzaat franceinfo
Have there been any incidents in the past two days?
There was amazement and trauma with bewildering violence, 130 LBD shots by the municipal police. These last two days, no, indeed, but I don’t want you to say to me in two days: “Mr. Mayor, it was all the same senseless of you to maintain these events given the violence that you had suffered”. Moreover, the general of firefighters decided to remove the ball in Aulnay-sous-Bois considering that he would prefer that the firefighters are operational and that we do not make a point of fixation.
Aren’t you afraid that these cancellations mentioned in the media are a kind of call for incidents to happen?
On June 21 in Aulnay-sous-Bois, you had 10,000 people on a boulevard listening to Gilbert Montagné, there were zero incidents! 5,000 people in the middle of the city of 3,000 [à Aulnay-sous-Bois] to listen to Nej, zero incident! I’m not living in speculation right now. We have suffered serious, terrible, violent events, with 40,000 inhabitants who suffer from them in difficult neighborhoods and who are not accomplices. I do my best to minimize any risk.