France is experiencing a third heat wave, although summer has not yet begun. On Thursday, 72 departments will be on an orange heat wave alert, with Météo-France indicating the heat wave will last until the weekend of July 18. The high fire risk has led about ten prefects and many municipalities to ban or cancel fireworks displays, especially on the occasion of National Day.
To date, it has been the prefectures of at least ten departments that have banned fireworks or at least taken measures to strictly regulate them. And many others should follow this example. In the Loire, for example, the prefect is calling on municipalities to cancel planned fireworks displays. On the Marne they are prohibited “except in exceptional cases.” the same goes for Oise, Essonne, Ayr, Aisne in the Loire and Cher or even in the Côte d’Or.
Ban or adapt
Some prefects prefer to adapt to the everyday situation. This is especially true in Charente, where the prefect prohibits “pyrotechnic shows and fireworks of any category throughout the department” as soon as the fire danger level rises to “very serious.” There are no cancellations expected in Oba, but planned pyrotechnic shows will be held under close supervision.
Our articles about heat
Some municipalities did not wait for the prefect’s instructions to draw a line under the fireworks display. This is the case, for example, in Sainte-Marie-de-la-Mer, in Bouches-du-Rhône. There will be no fireworks on July 14, the city hall reports on Facebook. On the other hand, “the entire budget originally allocated for the fireworks display will be transferred to the Fire Solidarity Fund created by AMF 66 to help those affected.”