2023-07-12 16:02:41
The Council of State examined, on Wednesday, a request from fireworks distributors who are asking for the suspension of the government’s ban on “pyrotechnic devices” during the long weekend of July 14.
At the hearing, the importers and distributors of fireworks asked for the suspension of the execution of a decree published on Sunday in the Official newspaperwhich prohibits “until July 15 inclusive, the sale, port, transport and use of pyrotechnic articles and fireworks throughout the national territory”.
After the violence that followed the death of Nahel, 17, killed by a policeman during a traffic check, the government fears a new conflagration in the cities for July 14. The highest French administrative court must render its decision by Thursday morning.
Misunderstanding professionals
As soon as the decree was published on Sunday in the Official Journal, the pyrotechnicians reacted quickly. During the debates, the latter argued that the decree “missed its target”, aiming for a “general ban on the sale”, including for fireworks which are not likely to be used during the riots.
According to them, the decree generates a “total damage of 40 million euros” for their activity already penalized by the Covid and the prohibitions linked to the drought.
“July 14, for pyrotechnicians, is like Valentine’s Day for florists,” pleaded their lawyer, Me Régis Froger, stressing that the “six-day period covered by the decree is crucial for the market”.
An argument “inadmissible” according to the Director of Legal Affairs of the Ministry of the Interior, Pascale Léglise, who pointed to “figures not established”.
According to a recent note from the General Directorate of Customs, fireworks, freely available for sale, have been misused for several years and used for illegal purposes, in particular in the context of attacks against law enforcement. , buildings, vehicles or even against other groups of people.
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