Unmissable events on July 14, the traditional National Day fireworks are threatened by the coronavirus crisis. While some cities have given up like Marseille and Toulouse, formalizing the cancellation of the show, others say they are ready to find a compromise. Between fireworks without public and limited gatherings, the communes organize themselves to guarantee the spectacle all the same.
"Now is not the time to create a cluster for a bad decision "Observing the fireworks with wonder, glass in hand, from a strategic location, chosen with care, will not be possible this year for everyone. Many mayors have formalized the cancellation, refusing to take any unnecessary risk. This is the case, for example, of Hubert Hoffmann, mayor of Gambsheim, a small town on the Rhine, interviewed by Europe 1: "Imagine here 2,000 people coming there. When the fireworks arrive, they are all Unfortunately, this year there will not be that because as mayor I decided to cancel it. Now is not the time to create a cluster for a bad decision. "
Some, however, do not want to give up. This is where the puzzle begins. Respect the health restrictions without canceling the show, this is the goal given to us by the irreducible Jean-Charles Lambert, mayor of Stutzheim-Offenheim, a small Alsatian town. "This year, there will be no rally. But we have chosen a point in the village located high up, so that everyone can see it," he explains.
" Many in the profession will disappear "With these cancellations, collateral damage is inevitable for professionals in the sector. "We have a loss of 80% of our turnover. We hope to catch up in September and December. But I think that many in the profession will disappear," fears Bruno Duverger, director of the company Ciel en fête.
An opinion that also shares, Christian Trapon, a fireworks leader in the sector in Alsace: "We will sell very little fire, or almost nothing. Usually, it is more than 200 fires in the Bas-Rhin alone" .