A heavy police presence but few visiting fans is expected when France hosts Israel in the UEFA Nations League on Thursday, a week after violence erupted in Amsterdam in connection with a visiting Israeli team.
French police chief Laurent Nunez said that 4,000 police officers and security staff will be deployed around the Stade de France, in addition to 1,500 other police officers on public transportation.
The Paris authorities declared a state of high alert after the violence that took place in Amsterdam before and after the European League match between Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv. Dutch authorities say fans from both sides were involved in the unrest. The attacks on Maccabi fans sparked outrage and were widely condemned as anti-Semitic.
“What we learned from Amsterdam is that we need to be present in public places, including away from the pitch” and on public transport before and after the match, Nunez told French news channel France Info on Thursday.
Three months after hosting the Olympic closing ceremony, the atmosphere had turned from celebratory to eerie, with the National Stadium expected to be three-quarters empty for the match. French President Emmanuel Macron and French Interior Minister Bruno Retaillo will attend. Former presidents François Hollande and Nicolas Sarkozy are scheduled to attend.
Only 20,000 tickets out of 80,000 were sold, with around 150 Israeli supporters reportedly attending the match, accompanied by police.
“We have tried to prepare for this match as normally as possible. It is clear that none of us within the team can be insensitive to such a heavy context,” France coach Didier Deschamps said on Wednesday. “It affects the number of supporters present tomorrow and everything related to “With it.”
The first leg against Israel on 10 October – which France won 4-1 – was played in Budapest, Hungary.
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“These are situations that players are not accustomed to,” Deschamps said. “But we have to adapt.”
The decrease in the number of visiting fans comes after the Israeli National Security Council warned citizens abroad to avoid sporting and cultural events, specifically the match in Paris.
Ritello told French news channel TF1 on Tuesday that no specific threats had been identified but that “there is no danger.”
Therefore, he said that exceptional measures were being taken “before the match, during the match and after the match.”
The French National Police’s elite tactical unit, known as RAID, will be present at the stadium and some police will wear civilian clothes and mingle with fans. There will also be heightened surveillance inside Paris, including places of worship and Jewish schools.
“It is out of the question that we risk seeing a repeat of dramatic events, such as the chase we witnessed in Amsterdam,” Ritello said, adding that postponing the match or moving it elsewhere had been ruled out.
He said: “France will not submit, and the match between France and Israel will be held in the place where it is supposed to be held.”
In Amsterdam, a number of Maccabi fans attacked a taxi and chanted anti-Arab slogans, while some men carried out “hit-and-run” attacks on people they thought were Jews, according to the city’s mayor, Femke Halsema.
After the match, parts of a large group of Maccabi supporters armed with sticks ran out “destroying things,” a 12-page report on the violence released by Amsterdam authorities said.
He added that there are also “rioters, moving in small groups on foot, on a scooter, or in a car, and quickly attacking Maccabi fans before disappearing.”
Protests broke out in Paris on Wednesday night against a controversial concert organized by far-right figures in support of Israel.
The match is scheduled to kick off in the Saint-Denis suburb north of Paris at 8:45 pm local time (1945 GMT).
A pro-Palestinian demonstration was held in Saint-Denis Square at 6pm local time to protest the match.
Nine years ago, the Stade de France was one of several sites during the Nov. 13 terrorist attacks in which 130 people were killed. France was playing Germany that night when two explosions occurred outside the stadium.
Deschamps, Germany coach Joachim Low and all the players stayed together in the dressing rooms for hours until it was safe to leave.
“It is a sad history for us considering what happened in 2015,” Deschamps said.
& Edition 2024 The Canadian Press
