New Year's Eve 2025 was marked by several excesses and violence across the country, despite an impressive security system, according to CNEWS. A teenager dead in Strasbourg, a baby injured in Lyon, mortars fired at the police in Nice… The first assessment of the violence shows a turbulent night, but the authorities remain vigilant.
New Year's Eve 2025 was marked by an unprecedented mobilization of 100,000 police and gendarmes. In Paris, 10,000 law enforcement officers have been deployed in the capital. Nationally, the other 90,000 agents helped ensure a certain general peace of mind. However, despite this reinforced presence, notable incidents have taken place, confirms CNEWS.
In Strasbourg, where urban violence has become a worrying subject for several months, a tragedy unfolded and a 15-year-old teenager died after being hit by a fleeing vehicle. The exact circumstances of this incident remain unclear. According to sources, the city recorded at least 29 police custody, including 9 minors, and 56 vehicles burned during the night.
In Lyon, an incident took place on Place Bellecour, a 2-year-old baby was injured in the eye by a firework mortar shot. To the south, in Cannes, a man was injured with a knife by a still unidentified individual. The attacker was arrested shortly after the incident, but the reasons for the altercation remain unclear. Further east, in Sarrebourg, in Moselle, an arson attack devastated a school, requiring the intervention of firefighters from Metz. The fire was apparently started from a room in the building.
Incidents in the rest of the country, violence in Nantes, Saint-Étienne and the Paris region
In several other cities, the night was marked by acts of violence. In Nantes, fireworks were fired against the police, while in Saint-Étienne, vehicles were burned. The police had to deal with numerous Molotov cocktails discovered in the bushes nearby.
In the Paris region, the departments of Yvelines, Essonne and Seine-Saint-Denis were particularly affected by the violence. At least 80 vehicles were set on fire, and several police officers were injured or attacked, with projectiles thrown and the use of fireworks mortars. In Nice, police officers were also targeted by mortar fire, sparking fires in the city.
In the north of France, in Valenciennes, three people were arrested for urban rodeos and mortar fire. This first assessment remains provisional.
