France-Israel, a very high-risk match

The sporting issue is largely overshadowed by the geopolitical context. The French football team receives Israel, Thursday, November 14, at the Stade de France, for a League of Nations meeting surrounded by exceptional security, in the middle of the conflict in the Middle East and a week after the violence that occurred in Amsterdam on the sidelines of a Maccabi Tel-Aviv match against Ajax.

Securing this match, judged “high risk” by the Paris police prefect, Laurent Nuñez, has become a major problem, while Europe is facing an upsurge in racist and anti-Semitic acts, since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas, in the Gaza Strip , October 7, 2023.

The excesses which followed the Europa League meeting between Ajax and Maccabi Tel-Aviv, on the night of November 7 to 8 in Amsterdam, exacerbated fears. Israeli supporters were attacked in the streets of the Dutch capital. Five people were briefly hospitalized, according to the national police, who made 63 arrests. The Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, denounced a “terrible accident” and dispatched repatriation planes. Amsterdam City Hall denounced a “explosion of anti-Semitism”while reactions of indignation have multiplied around the world.

The French authorities ruled out the idea of ​​relocating the match, unlike Belgium which had given up hosting Israel on September 6 in Brussels, the meeting finally taking place in Debrecen, Hungary.

“Some are calling for the France-Israel match to be relocated. I do not accept it: France is not backing down, because that would amount to abdicating in the face of threats of violence and anti-Semitism”wrote the Minister of the Interior, Bruno Retailleau, on X the day after the events in Amsterdam.

The deployment of law enforcement will thus be “very unusual” for an international meeting, explained Mr. Nuñez. Four thousand police officers and gendarmes will be present around and – a rare occurrence – in the stadium, as well as on public transport and throughout Paris. Around 1,600 security agents will also be mobilized at the Stade de France and the RAID, the elite unit of the national police, will ensure the security of the Israel team, isolated in a bubble since its arrival in France on Monday.

One point to qualify

“We feel pretty safe here. There are a lot of security forces around us. They do the right thing and I concentrate on the match”declared Israeli coach Ran Ben Shimon in a video released Tuesday by his federation.

Israel, however, invited its supporters on Sunday to avoid going to the Stade de France, where kick-off will be given at 8:40 p.m. The Saint-Denis venue will ring particularly hollow in any case, since the minister of sports, Gil Avérous, estimated Wednesday on Europe 1 the number of places sold for the meeting at 25,000. Bruno Retailleau, for his part, spoke of“a very small gauge”, between “12,000 and 13,000 people”, at the microphone of BFM-TV. We are therefore heading towards the lowest attendance in the history of this stadium (36,842 spectators for France – New Zealand, in 2003).

The match will take place, however, under the eyes of the President of the Republic, Emmanuel Macron, who wishes “send a message of fraternity and solidarity after the intolerable anti-Semitic acts which followed the match in Amsterdam”according to those around him. His two predecessors, Nicolas Sarkozy and François Hollande, as well as the current Prime Minister, Michel Barnier, will also be present, according to several media.

On the pitch, Didier Deschamps' Blues, deprived for the second month in a row of their superstar captain Kylian Mbappé, will try to get their ticket to the quarter-finals of the Nations League. Second in their group, they only need one point to qualify.

“We made sure to prepare for this match as normally as possible, but, obviously, no one can be insensitive to the context which is heavy and heavy”underlined Didier Deschamps on Wednesday at a press conference.

Even without Kylian Mbappé, the task should only be a formality, a month after an easy success against the same Israelis, in Budapest (4-1). Beyond the security aspect, the shadow of the attacker, who accumulates setbacks (failed Euro 2024, financial conflict with PSG, laborious integration into Real Madrid, accusations of rape emanating from the Swedish press), will inevitably loom in Saint-Denis.

In October, his absence had little impact on the performance of the vice-world champions, victorious over Israel and Belgium in Brussels (2-1). Even if Didier Deschamps must also do without Ousmane Dembélé, injured in a thigh, and will have to reshape his offensive sector, he has all the cards in hand to secure qualification before completing this group stage and the year 2024 against the Italy, Sunday in Milan.