As expected, the football match between the French and Israeli national teams, within the framework of the fifth round of the group stage of the Nations League, witnessed a tense atmosphere and witnessed violent incidents inside the stands. Although the match was held in an almost empty stadium, clashes broke out, prompting security forces to intervene.
Although about 4,000 police were called to secure this sporting event, the disturbances did not stop, as quarrels broke out in the northern stands, specifically above the gathering of French fans. About fifty people participated in these quarrels, and a security barrier was established, according to what was reported by the “Foot Mercato” website.
It should be noted that only the French and Israeli flags were allowed to be raised inside the stadium, while Palestinian flags and any “messages of a political nature” were prohibited, according to a statement by the Paris Police Prefect, Laurent Nunez.
The front rows of seats were covered with cloth to prevent any attempted intrusion, and barriers were erected over advertising boards around the stadium.
In a related context, hundreds of people demonstrated in Saint-Denis, near Paris, on Thursday evening, to demand that France “stop the genocide” in Gaza, before the match between the French national team and its Israeli counterpart at the Stade de France, according to what was seen by an Agence France-Presse journalist.
Under the slogan “No to playing with genocide,” this gathering was organized on the same day that a special United Nations committee concluded that the military methods followed by Israel in the Gaza Strip “are consistent with the characteristics of genocide.”
During the rally, and in front of hundreds of demonstrators gathered in the “Popular Front” square in Saint-Denis (Seine-Saint-Denis), the representative of the “Unsubjugated France” party, Eric Cockerill, who was wearing a tri-colored scarf, said two hours before the match started: “It is a match.” Minor, but the presence of the President of the Republic, the Prime Minister, the Minister of the Interior, and two former presidents is rarely announced. How can Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not receive the message: You can continue the genocide?
Cockerill added: “France is ignoring what is happening, or rather is following the France-Israel match,” noting that “the first boycott has achieved success, as less than 20,000 people have registered to attend the match.”
