Nov 15,2024
Some French fans booed the Israeli national anthem and there were minor scuffles inside a sparsely-attended Stade de France on Wednesday for a goalless Nations League game overshadowed by frictions around the Gaza war.
FULL MATCH DETAILS
Seeking to prevent a repeat of violence in Amsterdam last week around a Europa League game involving Maccabi Tel Aviv, 4,000 French security personnel were deployed in and around the stadium and on public transport.
Some 100 Israel fans defied a warning from their government against travelling for sports events, sitting in a corner of the 80,000-capacity stadium which was barely a fifth full.
Some boos and whistles were heard during the playing of the Israeli national anthem, which was then turned up on loudspeakers.
As the match got under way, there was a melee near the Israel fans' section for several minutes, with people seen running and punches thrown. Stewards quickly formed a barrier.
It was unclear what had triggered the trouble.
Leading up to the game, several hundred anti-Israeli demonstrators had gathered at a square in Paris' Saint-Denis district, perimeter, waving Palestinian flags, as well as a few Lebanese and Algerian ones, to protest against the match.
French president Emmanuel Macron was at 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," he told BFM TV hours before kick-off.
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.
