A French department has urged locals to hide their cars and garbage bins to prevent them from being set on fire as the country is set to celebrate Bastille Day this week.
The department of Seine-Maritime in the north of France has urged residents to put their cars in locked garages and keep their garbage bins inside to prevent damage as the department expects possible urban violence during the Bastille Day festivities, a common occurrence across the country historically.
Prefect of Seine-Maritime Pierre-André Durand called on “common-sense preventive measures” to prevent car fires and other acts of violence ahead of July 14th, asking residents to park their cars indoors and not leave other items on the street, Actu reports.
The department prefect has also issued orders to regulate the sale and consumption of alcohol on the 14th and the days leading up to Bastille Day, with the takeaway sale of alcohol being banned on the evenings of the 13th and 14th as well as into the 15th of the month.
From Wednesday the 13th to Friday the 15th, the consumption of alcohol in public as well as simple possession in public is also banned in the department. Regulations have also been placed on the sale of chemical, explosive and flammable products.
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Previous years have seen hundreds of cars set on fire on Bastille Day, such as in 2017 when former United States President Donald J. Trump made a visit to the country and nearly 900 cars were set on fire in Paris and the no-go suburbs of the city.
At least 368 people were arrested in connection with the urban violence in 2017 but car burnings have remained a staple of both Bastille Day and New Year’s Eve celebrations in France.
Other acts of violence have also been seen during Bastille Day, such as in 2020 when a firefighter was shot in the leg by an unknown assailant in Etampes while trying to put out a car that had been set on fire.
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