French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin said there were 380 arrests in France, while nearly 390 people were arrested in Berlin, according to German local police, during massive celebrations that took place in public spaces in the two Western Europe countries, international media reported.
In Germany, where fireworks are banned, 54 police officers were injured in skirmishes with crowds in Berlin, while three young people aged between 18 and 22 died elsewhere in Germany after misusing fireworks.
According to the German police, as many as 500 people were aiming fireworks at each other, and when the police tried to regain control of the situation, around 200 people started hurling the explosives at the officers.
German police had deployed some 4,000 officers this year to try to prevent the violence that marred New Year’s Eve in several neighborhoods a year ago.
In France, thefts on New Year’s Eve, particularly of cell phones, soared, while nearly 100 vehicles and garbage cans were set on fire in various cities. A child also fell from a window in Aulnay-sous-Bois.
On the Champs-Élysées in Paris, a gigantic spectacle combining concerts, light shows and fireworks launched from the Arc de Triomphe marking the start of France’s Olympic year.
Notwithstanding the fires, thefts, and arrests, Darmanin stated that New Year’s celebrations in Paris went off “without a hitch,”, where over a million people gathered to enjoy the festivities. He added that arrests declined by 10% compared to the previous year.