New Year : vigilance anti-firecrackers to put, in Alsace and in Moselle – Europe1

Restriction of the use of fireworks, banning the transport of cans of gasoline that could be used to burn cars: this year, like the previous, the prefectures in Alsace and Moselle have taken measures to avoid that the festivities of the new year’s eve run at the drama.

customs Controls. The bridge of Europe, which marks the border between Strasbourg and its German neighbor Kehl, the police and customs were on the rise Friday, with the controls of cars. Objective : enter the firecrackers purchased in Germany by an Alsatian willing to make a sacrifice to a local tradition well-rooted, the celebration of the twelve strokes of midnight amidst fireworks. “What we fight most importantly, what are the big bangers, type mortar, which are used against the security forces,” explained in a press-the departmental director of public safety (DDSP) in the Bas-Rhin, Jean-François Illy. “The priority is that the 31st December is going well”, he added.

Two dead in 2012. good child, the tradition of firecrackers and fireworks on new year’s eve has already produced in Alsace by several dramatic accidents: two dead, four years ago, a death the following year, and every year serious injuries, including eyes and hands. The balance sheet has prompted the authorities to crack down. This year, the regulation has been somewhat relaxed by the administrative justice may, on application by manufacturers of pyrotechnics. But the use of firecrackers is prohibited in the “great gatherings” of people. Their sale is also prohibited to children under the age of 12 years.

And missiles that can “be diverted from their initial use”, that is to say, thrown in the direction of someone for the hurt, is reserved for artificers graduates. Finally, the import from Germany of all fireworks, even the smallest, is prohibited.

A decrease of incidents significantly. last year, the emergency services of Strasbourg had found a net decrease in the number of victims of firecrackers during the night of Saint-Sylvestre, and had seen the sign that prevention campaigns seemed to bear fruit.

In terms of urban violence, the prefects of Bas-Rhin and Haut-Rhin were also sought to limit the phenomenon of cars burned on new year’s eve – that several years ago, is no longer the prerogative of only Alsace – prohibiting again this year, the transport of cans of gasoline during the night of the New Year. “What we want to avoid is the transportation of gasoline that could be used for the firing of street furniture or vehicles. The fuel is single-use tanks of vehicles”, has hammered the director of the office of the prefect of the Grand est, Dominique Jane.