The national holiday promises to be half-hearted for Pyragric Nord-Est. At this company specialized in fireworks, based in Reichstett (Lower Rhine), two thirds of the fireworks scheduled for July 13 or 14 have been cancelled. This is one of the most important periods of activity for the sector. “We reached 80% of our turnover on July 14”, specifies Christian Trapon, manager of Pyragric Nord-Est.
This year, Strasbourg and other small cities in the east have preferred to cancel their festivities this year. These are episodes of drought that make the risk of fire more important. In any case, this was considered by the Bas-Rhin prefecture last week in a letter sent to the communities of the department. Even if the ban on fireworks is not enforced, the prefecture does not recommend launching any this year.
A message that professionals in the sector do not understand.
For him, it would rather be necessary to arbitrate on a case-by-case basis. As far as protocol allowed. “The environment is known by the public authorities upstream since one month before the date of the show it is declared to the prefecture, the place, etc”, he indicates.
On Wednesday, the heat wave caused several cities in the Ile-de-France, such as Villeparisis, Chelles and Savigny-sur-Orge, to also cancel their fireworks.
Communities forced to pay anyway
If the professionals affected by these cancellations had to finance and organize the transport and storage of the fireworks, their economic losses will be amortized by the general conditions of their contracts.
But the heat wave and the risk of drought that accompanies it in some places are not the only obstacles to maintaining these festivities. The recent riots linked to the death of Nahel also raise fears of the outbreak of clashes. The diversion of fireworks such as Roman candles is of particular concern to authorities.
A ban gone wrong
This is what led the Montargis Township, in particular, to cancel its July 14 festivities. For the same reasons, the municipality of Torcy, for its part, preferred to postpone them until the end of the year.
Faced with this risk of violence, the government issued a decree prohibiting the use of all fireworks.
If this provision does not refer to professional use, distribution stores will be affected, as will the manufacturers that supply them. “We have already delivered to all our customers,” explains Romain Schonfeld, the head of Pyragric, which also makes fireworks, as well as providing pyrotechnics services, but the stores will have to close their shelves and thus reduce their turnover at this key time. of the year. “For manufacturers like Pyragric, this will mean restocking and additional costs,” laments the manager.
“A boulevard for illegal networks”
In general, the director regrets that fireworks are stigmatized. “The image of the profession will continue to suffer, he denounces, while most of the fireworks and in particular the diverted Roman candles will be bought online or from dealers.”
This ban could even have the opposite effect and create “a boulevard of illegal networks” to which “many consumers have increasingly turned in recent times, reinforcing the dealers and their activity through their purchases.” Result: “even more dangerous and poor quality products will invade the markets”.
Source: BFM TV
