Fireworks – prohibited. Nearly 1.5 million people have signed the petition in Germany

The Police Trade Union (GdP) submitted a petition to the Ministry of the Interior German to introduce a ban on fireworks. By noon on Monday, almost 1.5 million people had signed the petition.

– When more than a million people sign to change the law, responsible politicians can no longer simply breathe a sigh of relief and return to normal work – said the head of the Berlin branch of the union, Stephan Weh, quoted by the dpa agency.

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After a series of serious accidents, including fatal ones, related to the firing of, among others, ball bombs on New Year's Eve, a debate sparked in Germany over the possible consequences of such behavior. Police officers were also injured.

“We launched this petition as Berlin GdP to protect our colleagues from violence caused by pyrotechnics and we are delighted by the overwhelming support,” Weh emphasized.

The collection of signatures for the petition began two years ago. – Every year at the beginning of January, people talk about it, promise a lot, but do nothing about this madness. Frankly, we can no longer listen to these expressions of sympathy from the political scene if the framework conditions do not finally change, Weh said.

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German media pointed out that many fireworks, including ball bombs with high explosive power are not available for sale in Germany and mainly come from Poland or Czech.

Berlin politician Burkard Dregger demands increased border controls to stop their import. In his opinion, to this end, possible solutions should be discussed with these countries.

Chancellor of Germany Olaf Scholz and Interior Minister Nancy Faeser spoke out against the fireworks ban.