They are tired and discouraged inhabitants. Parisians from the 19th arrondissement told 20 minutes noise pollution they encountered around July 14, and is less common, well after this date. Firecrackers, mortar fire, rockets backfire… Many residents have seen their sleep considerably jerky for sometimes nearly 10 days in a row, not to mention the danger posed by these unsupervised fireworks.
Nadia* lives near the Riquet bridge, in the city of Orgues de Flandres. We interviewed her on July 21, after nine almost uninterrupted days of firecracker noises. We meet her near her home and can see that her features are drawn. “This morning, I woke up on all fours because I haven’t slept all night,” she told us. The firecrackers started on July 12. It’s been almost every night since. It just calmed down a bit on July 14. The night of the 13th to the 14th, they made a fire in the garden, the firefighters came, we panicked. We would have thought we were at war. My 7 year old daughter was screaming, crying, she asked me after the third time [troisième session de pétards] to sleep with me. The night of the 19th and the night of the 20th were terrible, it lasted until 3 am. I’ve been in the neighborhood for about ten years, the years before, we didn’t have firecrackers after July 14th. You could hear one or two nice firecrackers, not much. And I’m still here in July.
Like Nadia, other residents of the 19th suffered from these fireworks extended over a week. “I live near Belleville Park, in the week following July 14, it was every evening, tells us Alexandre. And it is also the frequency in the same night: some evenings it is at 11 p.m., at 3 a.m. and at 6 a.m. in the same night. “We have also been annoyed since July 14, three nights in a row, for long hours by mortar fire a few meters from our windows, recalls Séverine, who lives in Place des Fêtes. The children were terrified! The older one clung to me, he slept all night with me, every time it farted he was traumatized. We’re exhausted, three nights in a row it’s very tiring. “This year, it’s every 2-3 days, it’s becoming unbearable”, also writes a mother on a group of parents from the 19th, joined by several other parents.
More firecrackers after July 15, confirms the town hall of the 19th
Contacted by 20 minutes, the central town hall says that the 19th arrondissement has not been more affected this year than in other years, and is not the most targeted of the arrondissements either. “This year we had some in the 20th, in the 14th, 15th, 12th… Last year a lot in the 13th…”, underlines Nicolas Nordman, assistant to the security of the town hall of Paris.
But the town hall of the 19th arrondissement explains that it actually had more feedback from residents for the days following July 14. “We were used to it happening a little before but not after July 14, confirms Adji Ahoudian, deputy mayor of the 19th for security. There were more firecrackers and mortars used after July 15. »
“Some young people were launching rockets towards our windows”
In addition to the noise pollution, these mortars and firecrackers can be dangerous. 20 minutes obtained video footage showing what happened the night of July 13 for Nadia*. We see several fires going off, an atmosphere of war, and rockets being fired in the direction of the apartments. A 22-year-old neighbour, visiting his grandmother, took them. He says: “They started blowing it in the evening, and then around midnight, they were blowing it continuously. At one point the bushes caught fire, I was afraid that the building on the right would catch fire. And I was afraid it wouldn’t fit [les feux d’artifice] in the flat. Police and firefighters arrived around 1 a.m. But as soon as they left, it started again, not even 30 minutes later, and it lasted until 3 or 4 in the morning. They fired at the cops with their mortars. I’m worried about my grandmother, she lives here and I didn’t know it was like this all the time, every year they burn garbage cans, and every year it’s worse. »
Other residents of the 19th arrondissement felt insecure those nights. “I was not reassured because some young people were launching rockets towards our windows, they were clearly targeting people who were thinking about them”, says Sarah, a resident of the Botzaris district, who suffered firecrackers on the nights of 14, 15 and 16 July.
Last year, mortar fire took place in broad daylight, entering a square where children were playing, at the corner of Rue Rampal and Rue Rébéval. And this year, a fire broke out in a residence for the elderly in the 20th following a mortar firework.
“Our calls to the police did not yield anything”
Dialogue with the troublemakers proves impossible. And the police often arrive too late, or worse, do not come, tell these residents. “We asked the young leaders several times to stop because it was late, they insulted us and continued even more, explains Sarah. Several neighbors also made comments to them, but nothing changed. We didn’t call the police because we knew they wouldn’t come. In previous years, we had made several calls, but they kindly explained to us that as long as there were no injuries or gestures aimed at injuring someone, the police would not move. »
Same story with Nadia: “There’s no point in calling the cops, they know they’re doing this. They play cat and mouse with the police, and there is no one when the police arrive. “Our calls to the police came to nothing, neither did my message to the town hall”, explains, disillusioned, Séverine, who then specifies: “We called the police on July 14 around 2 a.m., they arrived around 4 hours the car didn’t even stop and twenty minutes later they were blowing things up again. »
Faced with these repeated threats and noise pollution, the inhabitants feel helpless and above all very alone. “I have the impression that the public authorities don’t give a damn, it’s as if the inhabitants of the eastern districts do not have the right to the same sleep as the western districts”, remarks, bitter, Alexander. “I spoke with several neighbors, the fed up is general. One person even talked about creating a neighborhood militia,” adds Sarah.
The town hall promises to take measures
The deputy mayor of the 19th arrondissement, who himself lives a stone’s throw from the Orgues de Flandres, promises to be aware of the problem and plans to extend over several days after July 14 a device tested this year which according to him has carried its fruits. “Between July 13 and 15, we set up a coordination system for all the security forces: Parisian inter-donor surveillance group (GPIS), national police and firefighters. This made it possible to attenuate the situation before July 14, where we noticed fewer problems: usually we have five or six sites where it is very complicated, and there we had only two sites, the organs of Flanders and Avenue de la Porte Brunet, where it was difficult. Next year, it will be extended over several days,” announces Adji Ahoudian.
As for the central town hall, it wants to tackle the root of the problem, by prohibiting the sale, purely and simply, of these devices to individuals. “It is a serious phenomenon which is not limited to noise pollution. We should no longer be able to obtain this type of gear. This is point number 1: prevent the sale. I ask that all legislative measures be taken,” says Nicolas Nordman.
The town hall in this area is dependent on the measures taken by the State. The so-called “global security” law adopted in April 2021 provided for criminal penalties for the purchase, possession, use and sale of fireworks mortars to persons other than professionals. But the decree published in December 2021 only requires “reporting suspicious sales”. And above all, it does not prevent you from buying these items on the Internet, via Telegram or in other European countries, where the law is less strict.
Anne Hidalgo’s assistant also wants to strengthen prevention with college students to alert them to the danger of these fires. And promises, without revealing anything, new measures “early next year”. As for the Paris police headquarters, contacted by 20 minutes on July 21, she had, at the date of publication of this article, still not provided answers to our questions.
* The first name has been changed