The sporting stakes of this meeting in the Paris suburbs counting for the League of Nations are largely eclipsed by the geopolitical context. “We will not give in to anti-Semitism,” President Emmanuel Macron assured BFMTV before the start of the meeting scheduled for 8:45 p.m., which he will attend in the stands. The President of the Republic spoke this Thursday by telephone with Israeli President Isaac Herzog and his Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The French head of state “called for the match to take place in a spirit of respect and solidarity, in accordance with the values of sport.” He assured his interlocutors of “France’s mobilization to ensure the smooth running” of the evening.
“France will remain intractable with regard to anti-Semitism, wherever it manifests itself,” concluded Emmanuel Macron.
A total of 4,000 police officers and gendarmes were deployed around and, rarely, in the Saint-Denis stadium, as well as on public transport and throughout Paris.
The Saint-Denis enclosure (80,000 seats) will sound a little hollow since only 12,000 to 25,000 spectators are expected.
In the stadium, only French and Israeli flags will be allowed, and Palestinian banners, as well as “messages of a political nature”, will be prohibited, indicated Laurent Nuñez. Fears of excesses were reinforced after the serious incidents which followed the Europa League match between Ajax and Maccabi Tel-Aviv, on the night of November 7 to 8 in Amsterdam. Israeli supporters were chased and beaten in the streets of the Dutch capital, attacks which left 20 to 30 injured and sparked outrage in many Western capitals. Before the match, Maccabi fans chanted anti-Arab chants and burned a Palestinian flag in the central Dam Square.
The French authorities have categorically ruled out giving up the match, or relocating it as Belgium did in September. Israel called on its fans on Sunday to avoid going to the Stade de France.
Kanté captain
In the football department, Didier Deschamps has entrusted the captaincy of the Blues to Ngolo Kanté, the midfielder. The Blues coach aligns a young attack with Olisé, Kolo-Muani and Barcola
A demonstration against “Israel’s impunity” in Saint-Denis
In Saint-Denis, Place du Front Populaire, several hundred people gathered Thursday evening to denounce the holding of this match, noted an AFP journalist. “Our goal is to denounce Israel's impunity […]. We don't believe that we can calmly play on a football field, on one side, and continue to bomb, on the other,” denounced Neva Bekhtari, of the Urgence Palestine collective, on the microphone.
Maximum security for Israeli buses
Led by an association for the defense of the Jewish community, more than 600 people went to the stadium early Thursday evening in around ten chartered buses placed under high police security. “We are not here for football, we are here for Israel, we must support the Israeli team,” said Jean-Philippe Sirois in front of one of the buses.
