Paris has cancelled its traditional New Year’s Eve concert on the Champs-Élysées after police warned that the event posed security risks—a decision that has triggered fierce political criticism.

More than one million people were expected to attend, yet the city’s police chief urged cancellation due to fears of crowd crushes, stampedes, and violent clashes—problems seen in previous years, even with more than 6,000 officers deployed in 2024.

Outgoing Socialist mayor Anne Hidalgo agreed to the request, replacing the live concert with a pre-recorded performance filmed at Place de la Concorde. A firework display from the Arc de Triomphe will still proceed, but the cancellation of the celebration has sparked outrage.

Les Républicains 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.

The controversy unfolds as Europe redefines what public festivities look like. Across Germany, France, and Austria, Christmas markets have transformed into heavily secured zones. Once open, festive spaces are now surrounded by concrete blocks, mobile anti-vehicle systems, steel barriers, and expanded surveillance networks.

Cities such as Hannover, Osnabrück, Oldenburg, and Salzgitter have rolled out new anti-vehicle protectors, while Augsburg deploys moveable metal barricades that seal off pedestrian zones between tram movements—measures widely acknowledged as necessary after years of attacks.

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