One million sign petition to ban private use of fireworks in Germany

More than 1 million people in Germany have joined a petition for a nationwide ban on fireworks after New Year celebrations again resulted in casualties, injuries and arrests.

So far, around 1.01 million people have signed the petition, which was initiated by the German Police Union (GdP) in Berlin.

The GdP wrote on X on Sunday that this amounted to a political mandate.

“What we experienced on New Year’s Eve exceeded all bounds. This massive violence against our female and male colleagues must stop,” the petition states.

The document calls for a ban on private use of fireworks, which it claims is an important first step towards greater safety for emergency services on New Year’s Eve.

However, Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Interior Minister Nancy Faeser have both already spoken out against a ban on fireworks.