Quite a few people with boxes and bags are walking through Kapelstraat in Baarle-Hertog on Monday afternoon. Car trunks are being loaded. Almost all Dutch people use the first day of the Christmas holidays to stock up on fireworks.
The most common argument from customers who drive to Baarle-Hertog from all over the country: “The fireworks are cheaper and the range is much more extensive than in the Netherlands.” Many heavy fireworks that are banned in the Netherlands are still for sale in Belgium.
A little less business, but we’re not complaining.
The Baarlese fireworks sellers are not eager to talk to the media. But some reluctantly admit that the run-up is slightly less than in other years. “Since border controls came into effect in the Netherlands, the number of customers has decreased slightly. But we’re not complaining.”
Since December 8, the military police have been conducting random border checks at the Dutch border. Their main purpose is to stop illegal immigrants and prevent human trafficking. Illegal fireworks are in a sense bycatch. In the first week of the checks, people were already encountered with illegal fireworks on the A16.
These checks deter some fireworks enthusiasts, but in Baarle it is not so bad. The shopkeepers think that their colleagues who are actually across the border in Belgium are more affected. “In Hertog we are actually still in the Netherlands.”
These nitrates and pots are not allowed in the Netherlands.
Most customers in Kapelstraat are not that afraid of border controls. “I bought nitrates and some jars that are not allowed in the Netherlands,” says one of them, laughing. “They say you lose those fireworks if they catch you at the border, plus a fine of 350 euros. But I don’t worry about it.”
A Belgian police car patrols Kapelstraat every ten minutes. “We try to prevent illegal parking,” says a Flemish officer. In previous years, traffic sometimes came to a complete standstill due to the flow of fireworks customers. But the shops have now arranged better parking facilities and, together with the extra police checks, there has been no chaos so far.