The match of the French national football team against its Israeli guest, later today, Thursday, in the European Nations League, will witness an intense security presence, and the presence of a small number of fans, after the authorities in France announced that the state of alert was raised to maximum amid the tense political climate.
Laurent Nunez, French police chief, said that four thousand policemen and security personnel will be deployed around the Stade de France, in addition to 1,500 policemen on public transportation.
These tight security measures come a week after Israeli fans were attacked following a UEFA Nations League soccer match in Amsterdam, attacks that were widely condemned in Europe as anti-Semitic.
Three months after hosting the closing ceremony of the Olympics, the atmosphere turned from celebratory to filled with fear, and it is expected that three-quarters of the stands of the National Stadium will be empty during the match.
French President Emmanuel Macron and Interior Minister Bruno Ritayo will attend the match.
20,000 tickets were sold out of 80,000. Reports stated that 150 Israeli fans will attend the match, accompanied by police.
Didier Deschamps, coach of the French national team, said on Wednesday: “We tried to prepare for this match as normally as possible. But of course no one on the team can help but feel this difficult situation; “It affects the number of fans in attendance tomorrow (Thursday) and everything related to that.”
In the first match between France and Israel on October 10, which was held in Budapest, Hungary, the French team won 4-1.
Deschamps added: “The players are not accustomed to such situations, but we must adapt to them.”
Fans attending the match in small numbers came after the Israeli National Security Council warned its citizens abroad to avoid attending sporting and cultural events, specifically the match in France.
