Germans go to Poland to buy fireworks after the state stops trading

Many German residents, who are not allowed to buy fireworks in the country before New Year's celebrations, are going to crowds across the border to Polish shops.

Banning fireworks was announced this month for the second consecutive year in an effort to prevent large gatherings during the pandemic and to ease the burden of hospitals, which must regularly deal with severe injuries such as burns and wounded limbs as a result of pyrotechnic accidents.

At a fireworks factory store in Slubice, western Poland, near the German border, people who had traveled from all over Germany said that they were waiting in line for up to three hours to buy fireworks, filling cars and vans before the festivities.

Most Germans support the ban on fireworks. According to one survey, 66 per cent of respondents were in favour of the decision, while 27 per cent said it was wrong.

The pyrotechnic industry has announced that it will take legal action, deeming it unfair that customers were allowed to bring fireworks from abroad and arguing that serious injuries were <x0 perfectly impossible” if products were used as specified in instructions.

German fireworks producers earn about 95 per cent of the annual profit of about 200m euros in the three days before the start of the year, when fireworks are usually allowed to be sold.

Germany is the biggest market in Europe, equal to that of the US, reports The Guardian, broadcasts Klonkosova.tv.

Meanwhile, the amount of unsold fireworks about 30,000 tons of explosives is increasing. They are stored at about 30 high security sites throughout the country.