PARIS (Dispatches) -- A
total of 874 vehicles have been set ablaze across France on New Year’s Eve as part of a decades-old tradition.
That’s apparently good news enough for Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin to rejoice that the figure was lower than in previous years with coronavirus-related restrictions in place.
According to a press release issued by the Interior Ministry, a total of 1,316 cars were set on fire in 2019.
Fewer arson attacks occurred because of massive police presence on streets this New Year’s Eve, enforcing restrictions on public gatherings as infections driven by the fast-spreading Omicron variant surge.
Nevertheless, more people were taken in for questioning than in previous years, with 441 brought in compared to 376 in 2019, CNN reported.
In Strasbourg, northeastern France, 31 people were taken in for questioning after vehicles and trash cans were alight.
Six of those questioned were minors who broke curfew while the rest were linked to alleged arson, according to authorities in Strasbourg who also confirmed that four police officers suffered from minor injuries.
Despite coronavirus restrictions, in central France’s Yonne department, authorities said an illegal party with 1,500 people was still underway as of Saturday midday local time with police forces on site attempting to control the situation.
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, 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.