France has banned the sale, possession and transport of fireworks for French National Day, also known as Bastille Day, on July 14. This follows after riots broke out when a teenager was shot dead by a police officer.
Fireworks were among the weapons used during the protests after a police officer shot and killed a 17-year-old teenager on June 27 when he was stopped in a rental car in the residential area of Nanterre.
“In order to prevent the risk of serious disruption to public order during the 14 July festivities, the sale, possession, transport and use of pyrotechnic articles and fireworks is prohibited until 15 July,” reads a statement by the government which was issued on Sunday in the official state journal was published.
The ban excludes professionals and municipalities that organize traditional fireworks displays for Bastille Day celebrations.
Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne made the daily newspaper on Saturday Le Parisien said the government would “do everything in its power to protect the French”, out of concern about a possible revival in the riots.
Fireworks displays are a feature of Bastille Day celebrations. It is also frequently used during protests in the country.
Widespread protests broke out in this country after the 17-year-old Nahel M., who comes from Algeria, was shot dead by a police officer. This led to the worst urban violence in the country since 2005.
More than 3,700 people have been arrested since Nahel’s death, including at least 1,160 minors, according to official figures.
The French policeman accused of shooting dead the teenager has denied threatening to put a “bullet in the head” of the boy before firing shots at the victim’s rented car.
The French National Day has been celebrated on July 14 every year since 1880. The day commemorates the Fête de la Fédération held during the first celebration of the storming of the Bastille that took place on July 14, 1789 during the French Revolution. The storming of the Bastille was seen as a symbol of the uprising of the modern French nation and the reconciliation of all the French within the constitutional monarchy that preceded the First Republic and signaled the end of absolute monarchy in France.
