Despite the burning of around 1,000 cars, hundreds of thousands of people in France welcomed the New Year with peaceful celebrations, according to Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau.
Retaileau announced late Wednesday that 984 vehicles had caught fire across the country. About 420 people were arrested, 310 of them were kept in police custody.
The minister said these figures are unacceptable. “This violence is the result of a combination of brutality by cowards and criminals who attack the property of the usually humble French people who do not have the means to protect their cars in car parks.”
But the crowds on the Champs-Élysées in Paris were not affected as they celebrated with stage shows and music on the famous boulevard, lit by fireworks at the Arc de Triomphe but the interior minister.
The event, which was expected to attract about a million people, like last year, was peaceful, according to initial reports.
About 10,000 police officers have been deployed in the French capital and there are special security measures in place for the group on the main road, which was closed to traffic.
Visitors had to pass through several security gates, while fireworks and glass bottles were banned, which greatly restricted the consumption of alcohol by drinkers.
Citing the authorities, the BFMTV channel reported that 136 people were arrested during the celebration in the city.
In the rest of France, the beginning of the year was calm, although in some cities there were clashes between party-goers and the police.
In Strasbourg, a 15-year-old boy died when he was hit by a car while fleeing from the police.
In Lyon, a two-year-old child was hit in the face by explosives and seriously injured his eye, according to media reports.
A school was set on fire in Sarrebourg in Alsace, but no one was reported injured.
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