On the sidelines of the Europa League match between Ajax Amsterdam and the Maccabi Tel-Aviv club, violence against Israeli supporters was noted around the stadium and in the streets of Amsterdam, on the night of November 7 to 8 . The difficult images of the attacks, circulating in particular on social networks, caused the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, to react, considering “the appalling incident with the greatest seriousness” and demanding from the Dutch authorities “to act vigorously and quickly against the rioters. »
Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof described the violence in Amsterdam as“unacceptable”. They represent a “explosion of anti-Semitism” Who “hadn’t been seen for a long time”according to the city’s mayor, Femke Halsema.
A burning context linked to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
Comments supported by the Israeli president, Isaac Herzog, who does not hesitate to compare the scene to the attack of October 7, 2023: “We see with horror this morning the shocking images and videos that we had hoped never to see again since October 7: an anti-Semitic pogrom currently taking place against Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters and Israeli citizens in the heart of Amsterdam” , he confided in a press release. The Israeli authorities announced the dispatch of two relief planes to assist their compatriots. Earlier in the evening, Israeli hooligans stood out in the stadium, whistling tribute to the victims of the devastating Valencia floods and singing racist chants.
This episode of violence, against a backdrop of tension linked to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, is worrying in France, where the meeting between the Blues of Didier Deschamps and the Israel team will take place next Thursday, November 14, in the League of Nations. Especially since the recent events in Amsterdam come after two incidents recorded in France in recent days: the occupation of the headquarters of the French Football Federation (FFF), on November 4, by pro-Palestinian activists as well as the deployment of a gigantic “Free Palestine” tifo, at the Parc des Princes, during the match between PSG and Atlético Madrid, two days later, in the Champions League.
“The feelings that this inspires in us are astonishment, anger and worrysays Robert Ejnes, executive director of the Representative Council of Jewish Institutions in France (Crif). Is Europe still capable of protecting its supporters?In Amsterdam, it was not an attack against Israeli supporters, but an anti-Semitic attack. In a world marked since October 7 by an increase in anti-Semitic acts, yes, the concern is palpable. »
A reinforced security system
Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau ruled out on Friday that the match would be relocated, and even more so canceled. Questioned on RMC, the Paris police prefect, Laurent Nuñez, announced that a “extremely reinforced security system, outside and inside” from the Stade de France, would be deployed for the occasion. Thus, all shops, bars and restaurants located around the Stade de France will have to close from the afternoon of November 14, indicates the Paris police headquarters. A specific route between the stations around the stadium and the entrance gates should be communicated in the coming days.
On July 24, during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, a thousand police and gendarmes were mobilized for the Mali-Israel match at the Parc des Princes, due to calls for « mobilisation » against the presence of the Israeli delegation in France. If no notable incident had then been reported, a security source says that there could be more police officers mobilized this time, without specifying the number at this stage.
“France showed its ability to secure a world event, in an extraordinary way during the Olympicswants to believe Robert Ejnes. The French forces have this capacity to defend its supporters and its citizens. » The manager hopes that the public present at the Stade de France will be “an audience of supporters, coming for sport and not to attack”, well aware that the football fans present at the Stade de France will not, however, present the same profile as the hooligans and the perpetrators of anti-Semitic acts who clashed in Amsterdam last night.
“These are families who are expected next Thursday and, in terms of ticket sales, the venue is far from being full at the moment, explains a source from the FFF. But vigilance will however be required for excesses outside the stadium.”
