France: national holiday under high tension

The back-to-back protests over the murder of a 17-year-old boy by French police led Macron's government to mobilize 130,000 law enforcement personnel, armored vehicles, helicopters, drones and water cannons to maintain order during the national holiday on July 14.Fearing renewed protests, the French Interior Ministry released a statement on Wednesday (July 12) announcing the July 14 deployment of 130,000 police and gendarmes to all streets across France, Le Figaro wrote.According to this press release, Macron's government will use drones, gendarmerie armored vehicles and water cannons throughout the country to maintain order.

On the other hand, issuing a statement, the Elysée affirmed that the French President, Emmanuel Macron, will not deliver a speech. For some analysts the reason could lie in the recent protests or in order to avoid the repetition of the event which occurred during the celebration of the holiday in 2019 when Macron was booed while delivering his speech.The incidents that occurred last year on the sidelines of the July 14 festivities resulted in the arrest of 807 people, 749 cars burned and 500 police officers injured, recalled Le Figaro.In allusion to the strategy of the Macron government which deployed 45,000 police and gendarmes (including 10,000 stationed in the Paris region) during the recent protests, Le Figaro added: “34,000 firefighters will be mobilized on the day of the celebration of the national holiday and 40,000 others remain mobilized in the evening to prevent the risk of incidents during the festivities. »

This press release was published when the French Prime Minister, Élisabeth Borne, had previously announced a ban on the sale, port and transport of fireworks mortars. There have also been reports of customs surveillance and restrictions on the import of such products.In other towns like Nanterre, the epicenter of protests where Nahel was killed, the July 13 fireworks display has been canceled.July 14 is the National Day of the French Republic which commemorates the storming of the Bastille prison in 1789.