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The French Interior Minister Manuel Valls held a press conference on Wednesday to report on crime for the New Year, and gave the most anticipated statistical number of cars burned during the celebrations.
Stressing that 31 January was one of the most important events of the year in terms of public safety, Valls also addressed the deaths of three people were stabbed in separate incidents Minister then submitted the countdown 1067 cars were torched across the country the day before.
arson of vehicles mainly confined to disadvantaged suburbs around large cities has become an embarrassing tradition of bringing the new year in France Moreover, the public expects to be informed exactly how many cars were burned in what could be seen as unique and strange annual ritual abroad.
Valls was quick to point out that there had been a fall of 10 the number of incidents over the last year.
The infamous practice can be attributed to the northeastern city of Strasbourg, which straddles the border between France and Germany.
Strasbourg, which hosts thousands of tourists who flock to the city for its famous Christmas market, began to be marred by arson of vehicles of the holiday season in the 1980s late, but the phenomenon exploded in alarming levels during the 1990s.
The year 1997 proved decisive this year the national media descended en masse on the picturesque vibrant city following a car burning frenzy, young vandals rivals subdivisions began competing for the media spotlight.
local government official Patrice Magnier said when he saw a clear correlation between the media attention on the phenomenon and the increase in incidents.
Despite efforts by the police and local tradition has not been eradicated Rather, it has spread across France, with a new peak in the burning of the car of the year between 2005 and 2009.
Protest Form burning cars is not limited to New Year celebrations in France Bastille Day, France July 14 national holiday, also sees a spike in incidents.
Observers who have studied urban violence in France say young people in poor communities, burning cars as a form of protest against the state, which they blame for their lack of economic opportunities.
It is also a direct way for them to challenge the application of laws and provoke confrontations with the police.
The peak Eve arson of the car of New Year in the mid 2000s is probably related to the wave of urban unrest that hit France in October and November 2005.
Following the controversial death of two teenagers in the Paris suburb of Clichy-sous-Bois, young men from disadvantaged neighborhoods around the country clashed with police for several nights, burning public buildings and dozens of cars all night.
Blaming the media coverage and the obsession with numbers, two predecessors Valls Interior Ministry has decided not to give figures on the seasonal wave of destruction in 2010 and 2011.
However, this movement has also drawn criticism from some corners opponents said the ministers were more willing to share the number of arrests on the eve of New Year and were in fact that these figures conceal that could prove embarrassing for the government.
Valls, a Socialist, has restored the practice to reveal the car burning numbers last year, and promised to do the same in 2013 as the year drew to a close.
The figures in recent years reveal a general trend away from new car burnings year, despite the problems of unemployment continues in France, but the festivities of this year showed the disturbing tradition remains widespread.
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