Thibaud Hue, edited by Ophélie Artaud 9:37 a.m., July 11, 2022

With the heat wave which will affect the whole of France this week, many municipalities are taking the decision to cancel the fireworks planned for the national holiday, to avoid any risk of fire.

Environmental reasons are also mentioned.

For their part, pyrotechnics professionals are worried about their future.

An intense heat wave is expected in the country all week.

With the drought, the slightest spark can become an inferno.

This is also why many municipalities, who do not want to take any risks, have given up on the fireworks of July 14.

Fire or environmental risk

This is particularly the case in Valbonne, in the Alpes-Maritimes, in Saint-Jean-du-Gard, but also in larger cities such as Aubagne and even Nîmes.

With the heat wave, the danger is too great.

"It's a question of foresight. We are in a site that is wooded, there is a significant drought in the department and more particularly in Nîmes and its surroundings, with a permanent solicitation of the firefighters", explains Frédéric Pastor, assistant to the festivities of the town hall.

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Others cancel it for environmental reasons, in Saint-Jean-Brévelay, in Loire-Atlantique, for example.

The town wants to protect its dunes where nearly 150,000 people gathered in 2019. The same goes for Tours where the objective is to protect terns, these small seabirds threatened with extinction.

Hard blow for the fireworks

But this situation is a real blow for the artificers.

Because July 14 is the peak of activity for pyrotechnic professionals.

Michel Montero achieves 70% of his turnover in a single evening.

Deprived of activity for two years because of the health crisis, the entrepreneur fears that he will not be able to recover.

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"If this year, we cannot work on July 13 and 14, which is the case at the moment because we have 40% cancellations, we will be hurt. And next year, we can remove the word 'artificier' from the dictionary. There will be no more pyrotechnics. We want to work and we have to work. If we don't work on July 13 and 14, we will close the door", insists the professional.

Each prefecture can decide to prohibit the launching of fireworks on its territory.

A decision that would symbolize the coup de grace for this entire event sector.