Hundreds Arrested As Clashes Erupt In Paris On PSG Victory Night
Paris : Police detained more than 280 people in Paris on Saturday after violent clashes broke out as thousands of people took to the streets during Paris Saint-Germain’s Champions League final victory.
Nearly 22,000 police officers have been deployed across France, including 8,000 in Paris, following unrest that marred PSG’s win in the competition last year. To minimize disruption, Paris tram lines were stopped, several metro stations were closed and bus traffic was stopped in some places.
According to the French interior ministry, 416 people were detained across the country; 283 of them were arrested in Paris. It was not immediately clear how many of those people were detained pending further investigation.
Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said seven officers were injured and called the unrest “absolutely unacceptable.”
Six vehicles and two businesses were damaged.
An AFP photographer said a group of fans also raided the Paris ring road, stopping traffic for a while and firing flares.
Nearly 20,000 people gathered on Paris’ iconic Champs-Elysees avenue as fans in the Hungarian capital Budapest celebrated the dramatic penalty shootout victory, police said.
Store windows were boarded up before the match to prevent a repeat of last year’s disturbances when youths looted stores on the Champs-Elysees and other avenues. Hundreds of people were arrested.
Two dozen flares and nearly 100 fireworks were seized on Saturday, while a bus stop near the Champs-Elysees was also vandalized.
The match also took place on a busy evening in Paris, where singer Aya Nakamura was performing at the Stade de France national stadium, rapper Damso was performing at La Defense Arena, and French Open tennis was in full swing.
Police said a bakery and restaurant were damaged near PSG’s Parc des Princes stadium, where tens of thousands of people had gathered to watch the match, but 4,000 to 5,000 people milled around outside with bullets fired at police officers.
A police spokesman said about 150 people “attempted to enter through one of the gates” of the stadium but police pushed them back.
Some tried to barricade themselves with rented bicycles and the police cleared the area.
An AFP reporter at the scene said clashes broke out between police and fans near the stadium and officers responded with tear gas after fireworks were thrown at them.
– ‘Only in France’ –
The scenes enraged the French far-right, with three-time presidential candidate Marine Le Pen writing on X that “only the victory of a football club in France leads to riots”.
“In France alone, everyone feels obliged to lock themselves in their homes to avoid violence on victory evening.”
Nunez said there is a “very solid, very robust system” in place to prevent violence.
“Our responsibility is to guarantee everyone a calm and completely safe festive celebration,” a police spokesman said.
The players will take part in a parade of around 100,000 people in front of the Eiffel Tower on the Champs-de-Mars on Sunday afternoon and will then be received by President Emmanuel Macron at the Elysee Palace.
