Less heavy metals, less plastic, new mixtures, concern for wildlife… Fireworks shows have changed their practices. And spectators don’t see anything wrong with it.
Faced with the emergency linked to global warming and environmental crises, republican rituals are adapting. Fireworks, often a must during July 14 celebrations, have evolved in recent years: pyrotechnic professionals now offer shows that are intended to be cleaner. Services requested and highlighted by customers, including municipalities.
The city of Bordeaux, in Gironde, led by environmentalist Pierre Hurmic since 2020, is thus proposing a fireworks display “virtuous and eco-responsible”. The show is on “without perchlorate, without lead and without plastic and aluminum fallout into the Garonne”writes the town hall on its website. During the call for tenders, “We were quite strict”explains Léa André, municipal councilor responsible for events and festivities in the Gironde capital.
The question of environmental impact may not be the first that comes to mind when talking about fireworks. However, they generate localized air pollution around the firing site, due to the combustion of the products, explains the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Environment Health Association. Fortunately, this high concentration of harmful particles is only temporary, according to a study conducted in Canada in 2024 and relayed by the Quebec daily The Press.
The composition of the fireworks is also scrutinized. Pyrotechnics use heavy metals and perchlorate in the powder of the bombs. Not to mention the other (non-heavy) metals needed to obtain the different colors: copper compounds for blue, barium for green, strontium or lithium for red, or titanium for white. So many materials that, after the show, end up in the environment and accumulate in soil and water.
Furthermore, while pyrotechnics were historically done without plastic, the latter has been commonly used in recent decades for reasons of “protection” and of “conservation” products, explains Jérôme Desiles, CEO of Stardust, a company specializing in fireworks displays. This plastic poses a problem because of the persistent waste it generates, and while the planetary limit concerning chemical and plastic pollution was crossed in 2022.
Faced with this multiple pollution, the green shift was initiated in France a “twenty years”, when of “large amusement parks that have fireworks every day” wanted to reduce their impact on the environment under pressure from public opinion, says David Proteau, CEO of Ruggieri. This pyrotechnics company, which produces fireworks for many cities, including eco-friendly ones like Bordeaux and Lyon, then invested in research and development as part of a “fifteen-year program”.
“A lot of money” has been put on the table to develop new molecules, new formulas and new mixtures to produce cleaner products, says David Proteau. But the game is worth the candle. “We make pyrotechnics that no longer release heavy metals into the atmosphere, [grâce au] nitrocellulose”, a basic component of gunpowder, notably used in artillery guns such as the Caesar.
“A firework today pollutes 70% less than ten years ago. It’s colossal.”
David Proteau, CEO of Ruggieri, a pyrotechnics companyto franceinfo
As for the container, the least use of plastic has been imposed quite easily, according to the professionals contacted by franceinfo. It has not completely disappeared, but almost all Asian manufacturers have discarded it and it is Europeans who still use it. “We have chosen 100% cardboard and 90% of our products come from Asia”, comments Jérôme Desiles, stressing that the cardboard used has the advantage of easily degrading in the environment and that it can also be used as fuel. At the same time, the caliber of the bombs has been reduced to use less powder.
In Bordeaux, bomb remains end up in the Garonne but this does not pose a major pollution problem, assures Léa André, municipal councilor. The same observation is made in Ambert, a town of 6,700 inhabitants in Puy-de-Dôme, where fireworks have been eco-responsible since 2021. If the biodegradable bomb waste that falls into the body of water at the firing site deteriorates naturally, the company in charge of the show ensures the cleaning on the ground “to avoid saturating municipal services”explains the town hall (various right).
In any case, as far as the spectacle itself is concerned, the change is imperceptible. The projectiles, which use less powder, do not rise as high as before. However, officials and administrators do not see anything wrong with it. “On the public side, we have not had any feedback. We do not see the difference.”concedes the Bordeaux town hall to franceinfo.
“The town hall is completely satisfied and has had good feedback from residents.”
Ambert Town Hall (Puy-de-Dôme)to franceinfo
In Redon (Ille-et-Vilaine), the July 14 fireworks display has been eco-responsible since 2021. It has been modified to give more importance to water, which surrounds this town in the heart of a Natura 2000 zone, a label which aims to encourage “collective awareness of ecological issues”The town hall is now talking about a show. “pyro-aquatic”combining fireworks and water jets.
Despite these changes, Soazig Ruiz, who is responsible for culture in a municipal team led by a diverse right-wing mayor, claims not to have felt any differences in the pyrotechnic interest of the show. Asked about possible comments from the Redonnais, she assures that nothing has been reported to the city hall services.
The eco-responsible dimension does not only concern pollution and waste. Attention is also paid to wildlife, particularly birds. In Toulouse (Haute-Garonne), dozens of starlings have died, “trapped and completely scared”, during the fireworks of July 14, 2019, reported then The Midi Dispatch.
“Several studies confirm that fireworks have traumatic impacts on wildlife, particularly birds (abandonment of broods, stress, mortality)”writes the League for the Protection of Birds LPO, which has formulated recommendations (PDF) for communities and professionals in the sector. “These impacts will vary depending on the shooting site (more significant on natural sites), the period (spring and summer) and the frequency of shooting”she specifies. But the most critical remains the choice of the location of the fireworks, which must not be near nests, the LPO emphasizes to franceinfo.
Beyond the location, the minutes leading up to the show count. Bordeaux City Hall mentions gunfire “progressive” to warn the birds. “I announce the start of the show with 11 cannon shots. With a first cannon shot accompanied by a flash in the skyexplains David Proteau, general manager of Ruggieri. PThen another shot ten seconds later, then another nine seconds later.”
“The bird has time to leave. It is not immediately caught in a bouquet of intense light and noise. We proceed as we would for the appearance of a storm.”
David Proteauto franceinfo
For him, it would not be shocking if such a step became mandatory because “It costs nothing and preserves wildlife”More and more communities seem ready to take this step. The craze for the eco-responsible approach to fireworks is growing, confirms Jérôme Desiles, boss of Stardust. “Ecological criteria are increasingly appearing in calls for tender, and this can account for a third of the score”he emphasizes, noting that the requests come from all political sides.
The cities contacted by franceinfo, which have already made the switch, intend to continue on this path. “There is no going back, it is absolutely out of the question”says the Redon town hall. The same goes for Bordeaux, which has just renewed its trust in its service provider, after three years of “greener” fireworks.