By Julien Pretot
PARIS (Reuters) – Crowds were thin and security was heavy at the Stade de France for Les Bleus’ Nations League game against Israel on Thursday after violence in Amsterdam last week around a Europa League match involving Maccabi Tel Aviv.
Some 4,000 law enforcement officers were deployed in and around the ground and on public transport, with elite forces gearing up outside the stadium three hours ahead of the match.
Before kickoff, some in the crowd booed and whistled during the playing of the Israeli national anthem, which was then turned up on loudspeakers. Some people were seen running from a stand where fans with Israeli flags were seated, but they were contained by stewards who formed a barrage.
Leading up to the game, several hundred people gathered at a square in Paris’ Saint-Denis district, outside the security perimeter, waving Palestinian flags, as well as a few Lebanese and Algerian ones, to protest against the match.
“We don’t play with genocide,” one banner read, in reference to the Gaza war.
Israel denies allegations of genocide in its more than year-long offensive against Palestinian militant group Hamas.
Barely 15,000 fans had been expected to attend the game at the 80,000-capacity stadium.
Waiting at the gates, some Israel fans wore both Israeli and French colours. Two wore a t-shirt with Israeli club side Maccabi Tel Aviv’s logo on the front and the words “Ni Oubli Ni Pardon” (Never Forgive Never Forget) on the back.
One person held a paper with “fuck Hamas” written on it.
NO SPECIFIC THREAT
About 100 supporters travelled from Israel and were to be together in a corner of the stadium despite their government advising citizens to avoid cultural and sporting events abroad.
French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau said this week there was never any doubt the match would go ahead, following the unrest in Amsterdam which saw both Maccabi fans and local groups engage in violence, according to Dutch police.
He said there were no specific threats identified ahead of the game, but that zero risk did not exist.
French President Emmanuel Macron was to attend the game in a show of solidarity.
“We will not give into anti-Semitism anywhere and violence, including in France, will never prevail, nor will intimidation,” Macron told BFM TV hours before kickoff.
The match came a day after the ninth anniversary of coordinated Islamist attacks on entertainment venues across the French capital, including the national stadium.
Racism and intolerance are rising in France, fuelled in part by the war in Gaza after the Hamas attacks on Israel in October 2023. Similar trends have been witnessed elsewhere in Europe.
Nearly 70 suspects have been arrested and at least five people were injured in last week’s clashes between Maccabi fans and gangs in Amsterdam.
(Reporting by Julien Pretot; Additional reporting by Layuli Foroudi and Reuters TV; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne)
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