Of all insane New Year’s Eve traditions, this gets our vote.
France has an unsettling New Year’s tradition of setting parked cars on fire. 940 was the count for seeing 2014 out, down from 1,067 last year.
The origin may be fiery riots across France beginning in 2005 when more than 8,000 cars were set on fire. However, some reports say it began decades ago in the city of Strasbourg.
Mashable reports:
As unusual as it may sound, setting fire to parked cars is a firmly entrenched way for some French to send out the old and ring in the new. According to government figures, 1,147 cars were set aflame in 2009, and 1,193 went up in flames on New Year’s Eve in 2012.
An official’s comment: “It’s a stupid tradition.”
For more information, please check Jessica Plautz’s article “The French set 940 cars on fire to ring in 2015“. You’ll find it on Mashable.
News to Share Brief source: Mashable’s “The French set 940 cars on fire to ring in 2015” by Jessica Plautz
Image license : CC BY-SA 2.0 modified for use by News to Share; sourced from an image by cyphunk on Flickr
