Hundreds of empty, parked cars go up in flames in France each New Year’s Eve, set afire by youths as a much-lamented tradition that appeared in decline this year, which saw only 874 vehicles burned.
The number of cars burned overnight has declined compared with New Year’s Eve in 2019 when 1,316 vehicles went up in flames, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin tweeted on Saturday.
Fewer arson attacks occurred because of massive police presence on cities’ streets this New Year’s Eve, enforcing law and order and restrictions on public gatherings and wearing face masks as infections driven by the fast-spreading Omicron variant surge, he said.
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Car burning has effectively become an annual event in French suburbs since riots in 2005 in several cities. Some 95,000 police and gendarmes were mobilized during recent New Year’s celebrations, French media report – including 32,000 firefighters and security personnel.
There is no information on burned cars last year because of a nationwide lockdown in 2020 during the coronavirus pandemic.
