Football should be a party, but not sure it will take place on Thursday evening. France will host Israel in a Stade de France as sparse as ever. Barely 20,000 spectators are expected for the final home match of the world vice-champions this year. A sad record will a priori be broken since the worst attendance for a match of the French team in Saint-Denis remains 36,842 spectators, in June 2003, against New Zealand. Usually packed to see the Blues, the Dyonisian venue will sound hollow, like in the cursed days of gauges during the Covid-19 pandemic. Nothing surprising, however, given the context and the challenge of the opposition.
In battle order
The police force promises to be colossal: 4,000 police officers and gendarmes will be mobilized, as well as 1,600 security agents in the stadium. “On average, it’s 1200-1300 for a sold-out French team match”contextualized the Paris police prefect, Laurent Nuñez, on BFMTV. The controls will be “extremely reinforced” for spectators, whose identity will be systematically verified, once is not customary. Some of the seats located in the first rows of the lower ring will also be condemned according to The Parisian in order to prevent any attempted invasion of land. Palestinian flags will also be banned to avoid incidents like those that occurred at the Parc des Princes during the Olympic Games. “There can only be French or Israeli flags, and messages of support for the teams”confirmed Laurent Nuñez.
The incidents that occurred in Amsterdam last week only reinforced fears and tensions. Not very engaging for the supporters. “There are on average 1,600 of us who usually come to the Stade de Franceenlightens Fabien Bonnel, the spokesperson for the Irrésistibles Français, in the columns of The Team. There, for the Israel reception, we only have 220 tickets. » Seven times fewer people present, therefore, among the main group of Blues aficionados. “The security context plays a role for around a third of membersconfirms Bonnel. They have security fears so they don't want to come. » The Israeli authorities are completely advising their supporters not to go to the Stade de France, fearing that they could be targeted.
79 euros in category 3, really?
“For around 20% of our members, there is also a boycott of the match because of the opponent”resumes Bonnel. The Israeli response to the operation carried out by Hamas on October 7, 2023 indeed caused a humanitarian catastrophe in the Gaza Strip. « We are faced with what could amount to atrocious crimes, even crimes against humanity.declared the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, on October 25. I implore you to prioritize the protection of civilians and human rights, and not to abandon this minimum of humanity. »
The final ingredient in the recipe for a match neglected by spectators: the gargantuan menu of recent months. Many supporters have taken leave and incurred expenses to follow the French team at the Euro or attend the Olympic Games. Fifteen of the 16 matches played by the French team this year took place within a radius of less than 1000 kilometers around Paris, with Milan, Hamburg or Leipzig as the most “exotic” destinations. A geographical concentration which has made travel easier than ever. This is starting to show in the bank account, and the prices for this France-Israel are not particularly attractive.
29 euros per place in category 5, that is. But if you wanted to treat yourself by being in the lowest ring in the East stand, it's a cold shower: minimum 79 euros per seat, remaining in category 3 (!!!). Put 79 balls for a France-Israel without Kylian Mbappé or Antoine Griezmann, while the Christmas gift lists are starting to fall? Unless you're really motivated, no. No tweet relating to the ticketing of this meeting has appeared on the Twitter account of the French team since October 15. The FFF did not even try to pull off a promotion during Black Friday to sell a few additional places. The sign that this match ultimately arouses no interest, including within the federation itself.
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