Sunday January 19, 2025, AS Saint-Étienne (ASSE) will host FC Nantes at the Geoffroy-Guichard stadium for a Ligue 1 match scheduled for 3:00 p.m. In order to guarantee the safety of supporters and avoid any incident, the Prefect of the Loire issued a prefectural decree establishing strict control measures and targeted bans against Nantes supporters.
Supervised access for FC Nantes supporters
Only 400 Nantes supporters will be authorized to attend the match. The latter must travel in a supervised convoy, made up of buses and minibuses, and present access vouchers to enter the stadium grounds. The meeting point for these supporters is at the Veauchette toll booth at 1:30 p.m. on the day of the match. They will then be escorted by the police to the Geoffroy-Guichard stadium. At the end of the match, these supporters will have to leave the premises under police supervision.
Traffic and parking bans
From Sunday January 19 at 8:00 a.m. to Monday January 20 at midnight, any person identified as a supporter of FC Nantes, or adopting similar behavior, will be prohibited from:
- To access the Geoffroy-Guichard stadium and its immediate surroundings.
- To travel and park in the city center of Saint-Étienne as well as in the areas defined by the prefectural decree.
The areas concerned include the Places du Peuple, Place de l’Hôtel de Ville, Jean Jaurès and Carnot, as well as several streets around the stadium, such as rue Simone de Beauvoir, route de l’Étrat, and rue Charles Cholat. . Major roads such as the A72 between exits 13 and 14, Boulevard Georges Pompidou and Avenue Pierre Mendès France are also affected.
In addition to restrictions on movement and access, the order specifies that it is strictly prohibited to possess and use pyrotechnic devices, as well as any object likely to be used as a projectile, in designated areas. These measures aim to prevent any risk of disturbances to public order, due to the historical antagonism between supporters of the two teams.
ASSE – Nantes: Call for compliance with the provisions
The prefect of the Loire insists on the importance of respecting these provisions to ensure the safety of all. These measures were decided during a preparatory security meeting and take into account past incidents between supporters of ASSE and FC Nantes.
