• Long confined to outbursts between young people on December 31 or July 14, firework mortars have been regularly used against the police for several years.

  • This pyrotechnic device – a cardboard, plastic or metal cylinder – allows fireworks to be fired several tens of meters away.

  • Like "Ubershit"

    for drugs, sellers now offer these products – which only pyrotechnic professionals can buy, sell or use – on social networks.

“Large stock of mortar in preparation for July 14!

".

On “Mortier_45”, “Mortier31” or “Artifice698”, Telegram encrypted messaging conversation loops, it is possible, for a few hundred euros, to afford a box of several dozen firework mortars.

No need to have infiltrated a Darknet network or to have come into contact with a member of organized crime, a smartphone is enough.

"In two or three clicks on a phone, you can have firework mortars delivered directly to your home," explains Jérôme Jimenez, communication manager at Unsa Police Ile-de-France.

With social networks, it has become very easy to get hold of them”.

Sales on the model of "Ubershit"

Firecrackers, smoke bombs, fireworks or firework mortars… It only took us a few seconds to find a conversation on Telegram selling pyrotechnic devices.

If the use of the first three is authorized for adults, the fireworks mortar - which should not be confused with the mortar, used by the army to launch shells - is strictly prohibited in the purchase, sale or use to non-professional pyrotechnics.

And for good reason, this device – a cylinder, made of cardboard, plastic or metal, allowing firing at several tens of meters – can be extremely dangerous if it is not handled by an artificer.

Inspired by the model of "Ubershit", the sale of drugs on social networks such as Telegram, WhatsApp or Snapchat, the sellers of firework mortars offer on these loops "discreet delivery by hand" or "by La Poste ".

“As they cannot buy them in pyrotechnic shops, they do so abroad via the Internet and sell on Telegram and Snapchat.

It forces us to be vigilant and to carry out targeted checks when they manage to slip through the cracks, ”recognizes a spokesperson for the Directorate General of the National Police (DGPN).

And to convince potential buyers, sellers do not hesitate to share videos of shootings against police cars.

"There is almost a starification of attacks against the police or police stations, that's what sellers are looking for," worries Jérôme Jimenez.

A weapon against law enforcement

Long used by young people to "celebrate" July 14 and New Year's Eve or to clash between rival gangs, firework mortars have seen their use diverted in recent years: some have made it their main weapon against law enforcement.

“Mortar fire on July 14 or December 31 has always existed.

Now, the problem is that we are confronted with it every day and throughout the territory, there is no exception, ”confirms Thierry Clair, deputy secretary general of the UNSA-Police union.

And these special "national holiday" offers worry the authorities.

"On July 14, we know it's going to be a particularly difficult night," adds Jérôme Jimenez.

“They use the excuse of a festive moment to use fireworks, especially against us,” adds the policeman.

In October 2020, the impressive images of the attack on the police station in Champigny-sur-Marne (Val-de-Marne) aroused the indignation of the police and politicians.

As recently as last week, this same police station was again the target of mortar fire "by around forty hooded people", according to several sources, reported our colleagues from

Parisian

.

The reinforced legislation

Burns, tinnitus, injuries, loss of certain limbs… Whether on the side of the victims or the shooters, the after-effects can be very serious.

"People often forget that a mortar firework is not trivial, it can hurt or even kill," warns Jérôme Jimenez.

In 2021, a young man died, "his head torn off" while handling in Alsace, on New Year's Eve.

“We sometimes arrest people for possession of mortars with one or two fingers missing,” continues the policeman.

In an attempt to stem the phenomenon, the regulations were reinforced in 2021 by the so-called “global security” law.

From now on, the purchase, possession, use and sale of fireworks mortars to non-professionals are punishable by penalties of up to six months' imprisonment and a fine of 7,500 euros.

And the penalties can be doubled if the purchase or sale is made on the Internet.

Fearing new tragedies, the police have therefore increased their vigilance on the eve of the July 14 festivities, in particular by "identifying the places where these materials are stored" and by carrying out "unannounced checks".

And some prefectures, such as those of Var, Aisne or Indre, have already taken orders to prohibit any pyrotechnic device for the festivities.

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