Khaberni - As is customary each year on New Year's Eve, the French Ministry of the Interior announced the security results for the night of December 31st.
New Year's Eve in France witnessed the burning of more than 1,000 vehicles and the arrest of more than 500 individuals, during a night that was generally characterized by "limited acts of violence," according to the French newspaper "Le Figaro".
The ministry revealed in a statement about "the arrest of approximately 505 people" and "placing 403 of them in pre-trial detention," noting that "the night was calmer than last year."
Last year, a total of 420 arrests and 310 pre-trial detentions were recorded across France. However, the number of vehicles burned saw an increase, reaching 1,173 vehicles in 2025 compared to 984 in 2024, according to the Ministry of the Interior.
Despite this, the French Interior Ministry confirmed that "all regional prefects reported that the night was less tense in neighborhoods compared to last year, with limited acts of violence," pointing to "a decline in targeting of law enforcement forces".
French police sources reported that police officers were subjected to the firing of firework projectiles in several cities, including Nice, Lyon, Strasbourg, and Rennes.
About 90,000 elements of the police and gendarmerie were deployed to secure the celebrations of the night of December 31st, among them 10,000 in Paris and its nearby suburbs, the same number that was adopted in 2024.
In the capital, Paris, the public prosecutor announced that 125 individuals, aged between 17 and 53 years, were placed under pre-trial detention. Among the detainees was only one woman, while 15 of them were minors.
The French authorities recorded 75 arrests before midnight, while the other arrests mainly occurred around two o'clock in the morning.
Of the 125 individuals placed in pre-trial detention, 33 were arrested on charges of intentional violence, 15 for participating in an assembly with the purpose of committing acts of violence or vandalism, 10 for possession of mind-altering substances (particularly canisters of nitrous oxide), and eight for drug use, as clarified by the public prosecutor.
The Minister of the Interior, Laurent Nunez, affirmed on Wednesday that "no excesses will be tolerated during the New Year celebrations," committing to "immediate and systematic arrests" in case of disturbances.
Meanwhile, the Minister of Justice Gérald Darmanin, in a directive issued Tuesday to public prosecutors, demanded "the highest degree of firmness," urging prosecutions to call for prison sentences in cases of violence against law enforcement forces, as well as "against women and children".
