The night of New Year’s Eve saw a drop in violence, the number of burnt cars and attacks by the police compared to 2019, according to a report drawn up on Saturday by the Ministry of the Interior.
In total, 874 cars were set on fire in France once morest 1,316 in 2019 (the year 2020 was not taken into account due to the curfew in place).
“The night of New Year’s Eve saw a decrease in violence thanks to the device of the police,” tweeted the Minister of the Interior Gerald Darmanin.
On the other hand, the number of people arrested is increasing (441 once morest 376 in 2019) as that of people placed in police custody (381 once morest 314).
According to the Paris police headquarters, 185 people were arrested in the capital and in the inner suburbs, a stable record compared to the facts recorded in 2020 despite the curfew, said a police source.
Some 95,000 police and gendarmes were mobilized in France, including 9,000 in Paris, as well as 32,000 firefighters and civil security actors.
In Strasbourg, the night was marked by “strong activity” and violence once morest the police (fireworks, attempted barricades), and 13 people were arrested, according to a police source.
In Paris, where the prefecture has made it once more compulsory to wear a mask in the streets to counter the outbreak of Covid-19 cases, 779 people were fined during the night from Friday to Saturday for “not wearing a mask”, a indicated a police source, including at least 600 on the Champs-Élysées.
According to the Interior Ministry, the police “enforced the instructions for limiting gatherings”.
In the Yonne, a banned rave party still gathered 1,500 people on Saturday morning on an industrial site in Saint-Florentin, according to the prefecture and the gendarmerie.
