French authorities have canceled the traditional New Year’s Eve concert on the Champs-Élysées, one of Paris’s most famous avenues, citing security and crowd-management concerns, while saying the city will proceed with a fireworks display and a televised countdown.
The decision was made at the request of the Paris police prefecture, which warned that hosting a large open-air concert on the capital’s world-renowned street known for luxury shopping and restaurants posed unacceptable safety risks. In recent years, the celebration has drawn hundreds of thousands of people, at times approaching one million, requiring the deployment of thousands of police officers.
The Champs-Élysées has reportedly become associated with violence from groups of Muslim migrants who have been looting stores and fighting with locals and law enforcement.
City officials said the cancellation applies only to the live concert. Fireworks at the Arc de Triomphe are still expected to take place at midnight, and a prerecorded concert will be broadcast on national television instead.
In a statement, police officials pointed to the difficulty of controlling dense, fluid crowds on the Champs-Élysées, particularly during a night associated with heavy alcohol consumption and spontaneous gatherings. Law enforcement also cited broader pressures on security forces during the holiday period.
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Mayor Anne Hidalgo accepted the police recommendation, emphasizing that public safety must take precedence. Local officials from the 8th arrondissement, which includes the Champs-Élysées, supported the move, saying the avenue was not designed to safely host a large concert crowd.
The decision has prompted political debate. “Les Republicains leader and former interior minister Bruno Retailleau condemned the move as a capitulation to rising ‘savagery,’ while left-wing mayoral hopeful Emmanuel Grégoire called it a ‘failure of responsibility’ that undermines Paris’s civic spirit,” European Conservative reported.
“It’s obvious that this is the result of massive unvetted Muslim immigration into Europe,” Daniel Di Martino of the Manhattan Institute stated. “Western Europe has had a terrorism problem for many years now, and that has been exacerbated because of unvetted Islamic immigration as a result of the refugee crisis of over a decade ago.”
The New Year’s Eve concert on the Champs-Élysées has been a fixture of Paris’s holiday celebrations in recent years, combining live music with the midnight fireworks. Officials said details of security arrangements for the fireworks and crowd access would be released closer to December 31.
Police said the investigation and planning for the evening were ongoing and declined to provide further details.
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