Overview
- Retailers began the three‑day sales window on December 29 with heavy demand, as the pyrotechnics industry forecast 10–15% more stock after €197 million in turnover last season.
- Berlin’s fire department urged tighter limits at the point of sale, while surveys show most people plan to abstain even as some buyers spend hundreds of euros or more.
- Cities are widening restrictions, with Wolfratshausen expanding its ban zone and warning fines up to €5,000, several Thuringian towns enforcing no‑fireworks areas, and Berlin maintaining four prohibition zones.
- Police in Leipzig secured more than 100 kilograms of illegal pyrotechnics from a warehouse and opened an explosives‑law case, as customs warned of widespread non‑approved imports after over seven tonnes seized in 2024.
- Authorities reported early misuse at supermarket car parks in NRW and reiterated that consumer fireworks may only be used on December 31 and January 1 and never near sensitive sites such as hospitals or churches.