Why Do Some French People Set Fire to Cars on New Year's Eve?
Every New Year, some French citizens take part in an odd tradition, one that has roots in political unrest.
Written by Tom Hindle
Reviewed by Kathleen Flear
Every year, some French citizens go to sleep praying to wake up with their
cars
still intact. While the rest of the world counts down the minutes to the New Year, the French take things to a whole new level, burning parked cars. According to the French
police
, the number of vehicles set alight was low this year. But the tradition still carries on. So why do French people set fire to cars on New Year's Eve?The tradition dates back to the '90s
Setting fire to cars started in the early '90s in France when people living in poorer neighborhoods did such stunts to gain media attention and protest.
Over the years, the action has evolved into a competition between major cities, with cities like Lyon and Marseille trying to outdo one another by burning as many vehicles to score a higher number in the headlines.
During protests in 2005 in the housing projects across France, police documented that close to 9,000 vehicles were burned during the political unrest.
The Drive
notes that the government at one time tried sitting on all of the stats regarding burned cars hoping to kill the tradition.The site notes that the reasoning was that if people didn't see the statistics of how many vehicles went up in flames, they would not find any reason to do it. As one can imagine, that policy didn't work.
Interestingly, as the outlet points out, gas stations in the country have caught on to the practice and usually stop selling fuel to everyone in the afternoon of New Year's Eve. The issue of
insurance fraud
might also play into the bigger picture of why this practice is so rampant.Indeed, some speculate if you want to fetch more for your car than its market value, you only need to park it in a sketchy neighborhood on New Year's Eve where there are no police, give it some spark, and set it ablaze.
The number of cars set on fire reduced this year
While the costly tradition remains alive today, the number of torched cars has been on a steady decline in recent years. This can be attributed to various factors, most notably
the COVID-19 pandemic
.On New Year's Eve this year, authorities reported that citizens torched only 874 vehicles, speculating that the decline was due to the Omicron surge. 12 months before, 1,316 vehicles were set ablaze.
Aside from the omicron variant, police also attribute the significant decline to a beefed-up police presence in affected areas. As
the DW
reports, 95,000 police officers and 32,000 firefighters were stationed in Paris and across the country to curb the traditions. It also didn't help that there were restrictions against public gatherings and a curfew that meant no significant disruption took place. Paris also had rules and regulations about compulsory face masks, with 779 people getting fined for not wearing masks.
Quirky New Year's Eve celebrations
Some areas around the world do indeed incorporate the vehicle aspect of
the New Year
without the arson. For example, drive-by house crawls, and socially distanced parties have been particularly popular over the last few years.Car insurance you can trust
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