France rang in 2026 with more than 1,100 vehicles torched, a "zero tolerance" interior minister, and the usual assurance that drawing any awkward conclusions about any of this would be terribly racist.
Festive arson, French style:
As millions gathered to "celebrate," 1,173 cars quietly transitioned from "private property" to "urban campfire," a 19 percent improvement on last year's performance.
Officials stressed that the night was "generally calm," which is a reassuring phrase if you do not happen to own a car, a shopfront, or functioning nerves.
Zero tolerance, maximum results
The interior minister unveiled a tough new line: massive deployments, immediate arrests, and absolutely no tolerance, except for the part where 1,173 cars still burned.
Around 505 people were arrested and 403 held, proving that authorities respond swiftly and decisively after the photos of flaming Peugeots have already gone viral.
Diversity as enrichment
Commentators solemnly explained that this annual bonfire of the Citroëns is just a "social problem," definitely not connected to any specific communities, policies, or decades of wilful denial.
To suggest patterns in repeated New Year riots would be to indulge in "stereotypes," so the responsible thing is to treat each burned car as a unique, context-free act of spontaneous enrichment.
How to be a good non‑racist
When a hundred masked youths fire mortar rockets at police and firefighters, the correct response is to admire their enthusiasm for participatory democracy and then blame "a lack of opportunities."
When a 12‑year‑old loses fingers to a firework mortar, society must reflect deeply — not on who normalised this environment, but on how you, personally, can check your prejudices harder.
The ritual will continue
Next year, more cars will burn, more arrests will be made, and more officials will declare the situation "under control," while explaining that publishing too many statistics might "stigmatize" people.
Citizens will be reminded that questioning any of this is hateful, whereas quietly paying the insurance premiums for the yearly multicultural auto‑da‑fé is the true price of enlightened coexistence.
"The massive security deployment for New Year's Eve did not prevent incidents of urban violence, attacks on police officers, and vehicle fires, writes Le Figaro. In fact, 1,173 vehicles were burned, reaching close to the national record of 1,300 for New Year's set in 2019, and significantly more than last year's numbers.
The paper notes that Interior Minister Laurent Nunez had announced a "zero tolerance " policy for law enforcement and "immediate arrests" for perpetrators, and yet, an incredible number of vehicles were still burned nationwide.
Compared to last year's mayhem, which saw 984 cars burned, this year saw 1,173 vehicles hit with arson attacks, representing a 19 percent jump.
In total, a ministry press release indicates that 505 people were arrested nationwide, with 403 taken into custody. Last year, there were 420 arrests and 310 detentions.
In Paris, "125 people were taken into custody overnight," according to the Paris prosecutor's office, which also indicated that they had "not been notified of any fires involving vehicles or street furniture." Nevertheless, the arrests did include charges of violence and intent to commit violence or damage as part of a large group.
One incident in the suburb of Bagnolet sent a young man to the hospital with four gunshot wounds. Meanwhile, in the suburb of Trappes, a man "well-known to the police" in his 30s ended up in the emergency room after being shot in the leg.
In Rezé (Loire-Atlantique), the police station was targeted by repeated mortar fire, and 24 vehicles were burned across the department. Police in Strasbourg reported over 100 vehicles set on fire, some 30 arrests, and more than 20 police officers suffering minor injuries.
A group of around 100 people even "targeted law enforcement officers in Rennes with mortars and projectiles, injuring a riot police officer," according to sources who spoke to Le Figaro.
The use of firework mortars was widespread across France.
In Buchelay, Yvelines department, two 17-year-old minors were arrested while selling a stockpile of 389 mortars, in violation of a decree prohibiting their transport. In Trappes, Guyancourt, Mantes-la-Ville, and even on the Paris metro, police made numerous seizures of fireworks from teenagers, some as young as 15 or 16, according to a police source. In Chelles (Seine-et-Marne), a 12-year-old boy lost three fingers due to setting off a firework mortar.
In Lyon, multiple arrests were made for the use of fireworks. No injuries were reported, according to Le Progress. The Rhône department was reportedly calmer compared to past years, although this may have had to do with "massive police presence" of 800 police officers and gendarmes. All in all, some 15 people were arrested and some 80 cars, along with dozens of garbage cans, were set on fire across the Lyon metropolitan area.
Charges for those arrested included the use of fireworks, possession of narcotics, vandalism, armed or aggravated violence, refusal to comply, setting fire to garbage cans or barricades, and phone thefts.
Paris police also arrested 10 people for possessing nitrous oxide canisters, according to the prosecutor's office. Nitrous oxide has been growing in popularity as a recreational drug, with various laws now in place restricting and regulating its use and sale due to the risk of severe neurological damage.
More serious violent incidents were also reported, including in Marseille, where a 36-year-old Algerian man, known to police, was stabbed five times before dying at La Timone Hospital. According to Le Figaro sources, he was reportedly attacked by a group of "hooded individuals armed with knives, tear gas, and batons."