Many July 14th fireworks displays canceled due to fire risks
By The New Obs with AFP
In many French towns, fireworks displays scheduled for Sunday or Monday have been canceled or even banned by authorities due to fire risks. SCOTT OLSON / GETTY IMAGES VIA AFP
Many fireworks displays planned for Bastille Day have been cancelled in France due to the high risk of fires, particularly in Aude , where the prefect has banned them throughout the department – with the exception of Carcassonne – until the end of July.
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"As the risk of forest fires remains certain," the prefect of Aude, Christian Pouget, has banned "all fireworks between July 12 and 31" in the department, where a fire has ravaged some 2,000 hectares. The fireworks display planned for July 14 in Carcassonne is exempt from this ban.
In Bouches-du-Rhône, marked by a fire that covered 750 hectares as far as the northern districts of Marseille , the prefect sent a letter advising mayors not to organize fireworks displays on July 14.
The prefects of Gard and Hérault have banned the use of fireworks by individuals during this national holiday period.
A cascade of cancellations and bansFire risks are forcing many other municipalities in France to cancel their traditional fireworks displays. In Vendée, where a prefectural decree prohibits "fireworks displays located near parks and wooded areas ," the municipality of Montaigu-Vendée "is forced to cancel the national holiday festivities," it warns on its website .
Located in the same department, the commune of Mervent had to make the same decision, the latter announced on its Facebook page.
The same thing happened in Sarthe for the municipalities of Auvers-le-Hamon, La Chapelle-d'Aligné and Bailleul where the fireworks displays were cancelled, according to the regional daily " Ouest-France ".
In Indre-et-Loire, around ten municipalities have announced the same decision, such as in Paulmy, where the municipality assured residents that it "will be postponed to a more suitable period." Other municipalities have followed suit, in Indre and Loiret.
In Belle-Ile-en-Mer, the fireworks display in Locmaria has been cancelled "due to the risk of fire" , the tourist office of this Morbihan island popular with tourists told Agence France-Presse (AFP).
In Loire-Atlantique, the prefecture on Thursday decreed a ban on "fireworks and pyrotechnic activities" in woods and forests, and up to 200 meters around these areas, from July 11 to 15. On the same dates, the prefecture of Ille-et-Vilaine banned individuals from "using fireworks and pyrotechnic articles of all categories."
In Ardèche, the prefect issued a decree on Friday, July 11, prohibiting the use of fireworks when the "forest fire" risk level in a municipality reaches or exceeds the "severe risk" level, or in the event of winds reaching or exceeding a gust speed of 40 km/h.
