During the fireworks of July 14, 2019 in Carcassonne carried out by the Toulouse pyrotechnic company Ruggieri. - Ruggieri

A July 14th without fireworks is a bit like a Christmas without fir trees, it lacks flavor. And yet, this is what awaits a certain number of cities in France on National Day due to the coronavirus crisis. Admittedly Paris announced this Wednesday that it maintained its pyrotechnic spectacle, but it will take place without spectator.

If it is symbolic, it is far from representing the majority of the 12,000 fires fired each year in France, most of the time in front of less than 5,000 people, the famous maximum gauge for any gathering until September. If small municipalities have decided to maintain this meeting, most have canceled it. This is the case in Toulouse where tens of thousands of people crowd each year, or the city of Carcassonne, a benchmark.

Two fireworks provided by the Toulouse pyrotechnic company Ruggieri. “We will be doing less than 10% of the fireworks planned for July 13 and 14, or 4,000 across France. It is a tradition, a free show, which will not take place, except in certain municipalities where the grounds are large enough to set up barrier gestures, "explains Jean-Michel Dambielle, its operational director general who finds himself with 5 million euros in stock.

Almost 80% of sales on July 14

From the start of confinement, he saw the contracts denounced one after the other for this summer. If July 14 represents 60 to 80% of the turnover of companies according to the union of manufacturers of pyrotechnic explosives and fireworks (Sfepa), "almost 100% of the market is concentrated between June and September", notes Jean-Michel Dambielle.

The sky is adorned in certain corners of France with 1,000 lights on August 15. If some could have hoped to rebound at that time, it was a waste of time, the municipalities having also mostly canceled these festivities. This will put several thousand fireworks workers out of work. At Ruggieri, the workforce usually goes from around sixty a year to over a hundred between April and July. The dealers they work with are also affected.

“We have 80% of our workforce on partial unemployment. We belong to the Etienne-Lacroix group which has the cash to support us. But there will be a lot of breakage, ”predicts the manager. If for him health remains the priority, he deplores the "confusion" that could arise from the maintenance of the Fête de la Musique in certain places.

Failing to be able to count on important events such as the Universal Exhibition in Dubai postponed to next year, Ruggieri has developed a show of thanks for the nursing staff with several tables. A fire that could be drawn during the day. "Some customers are interested, but there is still a lack of vision for the future," says Jean-Michel Dambielle.

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  • Covid 19
  • Coronavirus
  • July 14th
  • Fireworks
  • Toulouse
  • Society