A bus went up in smoke and 30 supporters, as well as eight police officers, were slightly injured. Clashes broke out between OL and PSG fans at a motorway toll booth this Saturday evening, just before the Coupe de France final in Lille. We take stock of what we know about the reasons for this violence and the damage it caused.
VideoLyon-PSG: images of the burnt supporter bus after the violent clashes on a toll booth
Clashes on the A1 toll, a bus set on fire
This brawl took place between supporters of the two teams who were going to the Pierre-Mauroy stadium in Villeneuve-d’Ascq around 5:50 p.m. on the A1 motorway, at the Fresnes-lès-Montauban tollbooth (Pas-de-Calais), at a few dozen kilometers from Lille.
During this violence, a bus was set on fire and two others damaged, the Northern prefecture said in a press release published overnight. The premises of the Société des autoroutes du Nord et de l’Est de la France (SANEF) were also vandalized by supporters.
The Northern Prefect immediately announced, on social networks, the temporary interruption of traffic on the A1 motorway “in both directions of traffic at the Fresnes-lès-Montauban toll barrier”. Around 7 p.m., calm finally returned to the toll area.
38 people slightly injured
Thirty supporters were slightly injured, 14 of whom required “medical treatment”, as well as eight police officers during this violence, indicates the prefecture. According to our information, twelve Olympique Lyonnais supporters were injured in these brawls, and three of them were hospitalized.
“These are sporting events where you must above all be joyful and sporty. I condemn with the greatest firmness all violence,” pointed out Emmanuel Macron during a public walk in Tourcoing, not far from there, alongside Gérald Darmanin. “I hope things will go as normally as possible this (Saturday) evening,” he added. The head of state was also present during the match.
An escort error at the origin of the meeting?
According to the account of the prefect of the North, Bertrand Gaume, a convoy of supporters, escorted by the police, crossed paths with those of opposing supporters, “arrived at the wrong place” and “at bad timing”, at the toll level. Supporters, of whom he did not clearly specify whether they were from Lyon or Paris, then “triggered the security of the bus” to “attack the opposing team”, which for its part sent smoke bombs against a coach. “There were very violent brawls”, before the “very rapid” intervention of the police, according to Bertrand Gaume.
The Collectif ultras Paris affirmed that it was a Parisian bus which was “attacked by a Lyon bus”, while the road was “exclusively reserved for Parisian supporters”, each group having “a predefined route”. “Subsequently, other Parisian and Lyon buses crossed paths, and we had to defend ourselves again,” adds the collective in a press release.
“The route followed was that of the escort, modified by the police. The buses were indeed under escort,” assured Olympique Lyonnais in a press release condemning this violence.
PSG supporters who traveled by bus with supporters associations were instructed to meet in the parking lot located just after the Fresnes-lès-Montauban tollbooth, in order to be picked up by the police. who then had to escort them to the stadium.
According to several witnesses contacted by Le Parisien, buses of Lyon supporters were on the other side of the toll when the buses of PSG supporters arrived at their meeting point set by the prefecture. The clashes would have started immediately and the CRS present on site would have used tear gas on several occasions. According to our information, this meeting between the two rival clubs at the toll gate followed an escort error by the national police.
Violence condemned
“I regret any violence that is done at the expense of football,” PSG coach Luis Enrique commented after the match. Lyon captain Alexandre Lacazette told him that the players had seen the images before the match. “It’s sad for football to get to this point,” he said.
“These acts of violence, which took place before the match on the public highway, are unacceptable” and “contrary to the values that must be upheld by football”, reacted the French Football Federation.
Preventive measures had been taken
Leaving the stadium on Saturday evening, supporters from both camps, first from Lyon, then from Paris, were taken care of calmly, without crossing paths, under the vigilance of numerous stewards and CRS.
According to the Pas-de-Calais prefecture, 1,000 police officers and gendarmes were mobilized to secure the meeting and 1,000 others inside the stadium. The Northern prefecture had tried to minimize the risks of meetings between supporters of the two clubs before this match, classified 5 on a scale of 5 by the National Division for the Fight against Hooliganism, with for example separate spaces near the stadium or lines dedicated metro stations.
