France imposes national fireworks ban ahead of Bastille Day 

Paris, Jul. 9, (dpa/GNA) – The French authorities have moved to ban the sale, possession and transport of fireworks ahead of the July 14 national holiday on Friday, following serious recent unrest in response to the police shooting of a youth. 

The ban, imposed on Sunday, is set to apply up to Saturday, the day after Bastille Day. It excludes the organizers of the professional displays traditionally staged to mark the day in many French cities. 

“Representatives and residents that I have met around the country are in fact rather nervous regarding the national holiday and possible renewed incidents,” Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne told Le Parisien newspaper after she had imposed the ban. 

A large police presence would be on hand to protect the French people on their national day, she said. 

Days of rioting erupted across France following the shooting of a 17-year-old boy during a police stop of the vehicle he was driving almost two weeks ago. 

A ban on the sale and possession of fireworks had already been in place in several regions. 

Checks are being conducted along the Belgian border to block the import of fireworks, and some 1.5 tons of fireworks have recently been confiscated in Paris. 

GNA