Photo: Franck Prevel/Getty Images
As far as weird and antisocial traditions go, this one should be at the top of that list. We are talking about the burning of cars, in France, on New Year’s eve, a tradition which began in the early 1990s, as a form of protest in underdeveloped neighborhoods.
However, it quickly spread throughout the whole of France, and now it has evolved into a contest between the various regions of the country. Typically, cars, vans, motorbikes and scooters are set alight on the outskirts of the country’s major cities. This year was no exception, as 1,193 vehicles ‘burst into flames’ on Decemmber 31 and January 1.
According to the French authorities, though, not all the car which go up in flames on New Year’s Eve are the work of vandals, and apparently some 20% to 30% of cases are insurance fraud attempts. This year, the French police have already arrested a 44 year-old man from Nantes, after he too tried to collect insurance money by burning his own car - he failed to set it alight, twice!
Still, the 1,193 vehicles burned on New Year’s eve are only a small fraction of the total number of vehicles which suffer this fate every year in France. Statistics show that 40,000 of them burn every year.
Story via Left Lane News
According to the French authorities, though, not all the car which go up in flames on New Year’s Eve are the work of vandals, and apparently some 20% to 30% of cases are insurance fraud attempts. This year, the French police have already arrested a 44 year-old man from Nantes, after he too tried to collect insurance money by burning his own car - he failed to set it alight, twice!
Still, the 1,193 vehicles burned on New Year’s eve are only a small fraction of the total number of vehicles which suffer this fate every year in France. Statistics show that 40,000 of them burn every year.
Story via Left Lane News
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