French government bans fireworks during Bastille Day amid tensions over police killing

France has banned fireworks outside authorised public displays during the July 14th Bastille Day holiday weekend, amid simmering tensions over last month’s police killing of a teenager and a brutal arrest at the weekend leading to fresh allegations of police violence.

In a decree published on Sunday, the government outlawed the “sale, possession, transport and use of pyrotechnical articles and fireworks” until after July 15th “in order to prevent the risk of serious disturbances to public order during July 14th festivities”, which authorities have said they fear could provide the spark for renewed violence.

Firework rockets, along with stones and bottles, were heavily used against police during the six days of violent unrest after the fatal shooting of Nahel Merzouk, a 17-year-old boy of north African descent, during a police traffic stop.

The shooting, on June 27th in the Paris suburb of Nanterre, inflamed long-standing resentment among poor, racially mixed, urban communities in France over repeated incidents of police violence and allegations of systemic racism.

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Horizontally fired firework rockets, which can reach velocities of up to 100km/ph, have become a favoured weapon of rioters due to their low cost and availability, with suppliers reportedly offering delivery within minutes on TikTok and other networks.

“Local officials I have met are concerned about the possibility of more incidents during the national holiday,” the prime minister, Élisabeth Borne, told Le Parisien, promising “massive means to protect the French” over the July 14th weekend.

Olivier Véran, a government spokesman, said authorities would ensure peace and security prevailed and it was “out of the question to imagine our annual festivities should be expected to give way to a few thousand rioters in our cities”.

A fresh row over alleged French police brutality erupted on Sunday after a video emerged of officers, from a controversial rapid reaction unit known as BRAV-M, arresting the brother of a 24-year-old black man who died in police custody in 2016.

The arrest came as an estimated 2,000 protesters defied an official ban to gather in central Paris on Saturday for an annual march in honour of Adama Traoré, whose family allege was pinned to the ground by police and died of asphyxiation.

Paris police forbade the march, which had already been banned from its original route outside the capital, saying it was “likely to attract radical elements seeking to commit acts of violence” and authorities had not had enough time to prepare.

Who was Nahel Merzouk and why did his killing spark riots across France?

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But Assa Traoré, who has led a justice campaign for her brother, called for a peaceful gathering at Paris’s Place de la République, telling the crowd: “France cannot give moral lessons; its police is racist; its police is violent.”

Paris police said Traoré’s brother, Youssouf (29) was detained at the start of the protest for “violence against a person of public authority” and Assa was being investigated for “organisation of an unauthorised demonstration”.

French media said Youssouf was injured in the eye during his arrest and was taken to hospital. The Paris prosecutor’s office said on Sunday charges against him had been lifted but could be reinstated once he is discharged.

His lawyer, Yassine Bouzrou, told Agence France-Presse he had spent the night in hospital but said he had not yet spoken to Traoré. The forceful arrest, filmed by several witnesses, showed him resisting and being tackled and held face down.

Almost 100 associations, unions and left-wing parties including the Greens and Unbowed France, urged demonstrators to demand “a profound reform of the police, its intervention techniques and its weapons”.

At least two journalists also said they were mishandled by the police during the march. Left-wing politicians – several of whom attended the demonstration – on Sunday denounced the brutality on display during Traoré’s arrest.

“A violent arrest of Youssouf Traoré – unacceptable at the end of a peaceful demonstration,” tweeted the Communist Party leader, Fabien Roussel. “Truly, nothing is being done to calm the situation down.”

More than 3,700 people were arrested, including at least 1,160 minors, in the riots after the shooting of Nahel Merzouk. During the violence, 5,000 cars were burned, 11,000 fires lit, 2,000 shops looted and hundreds of public buildings trashed, including bus depots, schools and community centres.

The government aimed to push through emergency legislation to repair damaged buildings before the summer parliamentary recess, Ms Borne said, and would also release funds to ensure swift compensation for the owners of cars that were set alight.

Merzouk, who was known to police for refusing to obey previous traffic stops, was reportedly pulled over for a series of traffic violations, including driving illegally. The 38-year-old officer who fired at Merzouk has been charged with voluntary homicide and is in provisional detention.

[ The Irish Times view on the riots in France: an explosion of anger ]

The French government has repeatedly denied allegations of police violence and racism from human rights groups and national and international NGOs. On Saturday, the foreign ministry said the “fight against racism and all forms of discrimination” was a priority.

It noted that at least 800 police officers, gendarmes and firefighters had been injured during the recent riots and accused the committee of a “lack of solidarity and compassion”. – Guardian