530 national police officers, including 80 CRS, will be deployed in the Alpes-Maritimes for New Year's Eve. Controls will be reinforced, particularly for motorists and concerning alcohol and fireworks.
“Their mission is to occupy public roads, carry out prevention and also arrests if there is urban violence.” In the Alpes-Maritimes, 530 national police officers, including 80 CRS, will officiate for New Year's Eve.
A number similar to last year, attests Frédéric Pizzini, interdepartmental director of the department's national police, guest on BFM Nice Côte d'Azur. The cities of Nice and Cannes, during the fireworks display, will be particularly monitored.
Fewer incidents, but younger perpetrators
“We saw last year and the year before that the numbers were down a little.” For New Year's Eve, the number of vehicles and trash cans set on fire between 2021 and 2022 was 35 to 40, compared to “around fifteen” last New Year's Eve.
Despite this drop, Frédéric Pizzini warns of the progressive rejuvenation of those arrested “who are most of the time minors, often very young and sometimes under 13 years old”.
In this sense, a prefectural decree prohibits minors under the age of 13 from traveling in the city, in Nice, without being accompanied by an adult between this Tuesday, December 31 at 11 p.m. and Wednesday, January 1 at 6 a.m. “It’s an important tool for us […] I think there is a group effect which means that they behave in a way that night that is exacerbated compared to the rest of the time.”
Reinforced controls for alcohol and fireworks
Several other elements will be particularly targeted, including blood alcohol levels on public roads and in vehicles as well as the possession of fireworks and firecrackers. Several prefectural decrees have been filed to prohibit their detention.
In Nice, on December 15, several “hundreds of mortars” were seized, underlines Frédéric Pizzini. In the Pasteur district, the arrest of an individual who “was engaged in the resale of mortars and rockets” took place.
These products came from Eastern Europe. An area through which many fireworks sent by parcel pass, he says. “It's used as weapons against police officers or public buildings, but it's also very dangerous, it's very incandescent.”
When it comes to alcohol, the police rely on preventive measures. “These measures are there to remind people that the consumption of alcohol on public roads is prohibited from a certain time (6 p.m., editor’s note). We are counting a lot on the preventive aspect.”
