Authorities fear that the National Day celebrations mark an upsurge in the use of these projectiles, used against law enforcement during the riots that followed Nahel’s death.
A party accessory now closely watched by the authorities. The firework mortar, widely used in the riots that followed the death of Nahel, reacted to Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne who banned it “the sale, port, transport and use” during the weekend of July 14, according to a decree published on Sunday July 9 in Official newspaper. The government wants to prevent “serious disturbances to public order”feared on the National Day.
Franceinfo explains to you how the public authorities intend to control this ban, which does not apply to authorized professionals or to municipalities which organize fireworks for the national holiday.
By strengthening the means of control
This ban on firework mortars is part of a system of security means “massive”, promised by Elisabeth Borne. The authorities have increased checks and searches since the start of the riots, particularly at the borders. Because if the sale of these mortars is controlled in France, it is much freer in Belgium. Border controls and cooperation between the Nord prefecture and Belgium have been strengthened. “It’s about preventing the rioters from restocking”explained the prefecture of the North.
In Tournai, a Belgian town located about thirty kilometers from Lille, the mayor, Paul-Olivier Delannois, has suspended the sale of fireworks until at least July 10.“It is relatively logical that if I turned a blind eye to the fact that we come looking for things here to create disorder in France, it would lack solidarity and responsibility”he commented in front of the France 3 camera. However, Bernard Deom, the president of the Union of show and entertainment pyrotechnics, wishes to qualify with the Figaro : “There is a myth that says young people get their supplies from Germany or Poland, but that’s not true. No need to leave France.”
By multiplying the entries
Seizures of mortars have increased in recent days. On Tuesday, 300 kilos of firework mortars were notably seized by the police in the 18th arrondissement of Paris. The prefecture of Seine-Saint-Denis communicated on its seizures made Wednesday, THURSDAY And Friday for a total of 918 kg. A total of 1.5 tonnes of firework mortars was seized in the Paris agglomeration in 48 hours, announced Friday the prefect of police of Paris, Laurent Nuñez, on franceinfo. He added that 14 people had been arrested, in four separate cases.
By tracking sellers on the internet
Since the beginning of the riots, cyberinvestigators have searched social networks to identify dealers of pyrotechnic devices or authors of calls for violence. About fifty gendarmes and a dozen reservists are mobilized by the Gendarmerie Command in cyberspace (ComCyberGend). Their goal is to“anticipate calls to commit abuses”Then “capturing digital evidence” to identify their authors. “Over the weekend, just over 50 criminal projects” were thus spotted by the gendarmes, explained to AFP on Friday General Marc Boget, the boss of ComCyberGend.
This work is bearing fruit, since two men were, for example, arrested on July 1 in Biache-Saint-Vaast (Pas-de-Calais), the day after a call launched on Snapchat to “committing abuses against public buildings and gendarmerie patrols”, detailed the general. others are also blamed for having “supplied” rioters in pyrotechnic devices. Tuesday, in Cluses (Haute-Savoie), a man who sold firework mortars via social networks was arrested, after an investigation by the Central Office for the fight against cybercrime of the judicial police.
By recalling the dissuasive nature of the law in force (even if it is little respected)
The sale and transport of fireworks mortars are subject to strict regulations. But “she is not respected”assures Bernard Deom at Figaro. According to him, only a dozen brands out of the thousand traders identified in the territory would respect the rules. “All these companies should hold a technical approval attesting that their work tool complies with the rules of the environment code, defense, internal security…”he assures.
The so-called “global safety” law stipulates that the seller of pyrotechnic articles intended for entertainment “is required to record the transaction and the identity of the acquirer”. It also specifies that this same seller can quite “refuse to enter into any transaction aimed at acquiring such items if it is reasonable to consider that this transaction is of a suspicious nature, in particular because of its nature or the circumstances”.
According to this law, the sale of“pyrotechnic articles to natural persons who do not have the specific technical knowledge or do not meet the age conditions required by the regulations to acquire, hold, handle or use them” is now “punished by six months’ imprisonment and a fine of 7,500 euros”.