The Paris-Maccabi Tel-Aviv Euroleague Basketball meeting on Thursday in Paris is the subject of particular vigilance by the authorities with regard to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. An important security system is planned to prevent any incident. The supporters are also organizing themselves accordingly…
It’s a Euroleague match like no other which is looming on Thursday evening at the Adidas Arena in Paris. The meeting between Paris Basketball and Maccabi Tel-Aviv, the Israeli giant of European basketball, will take place in a very particular context. In view of the ongoing war between Israel and Palestinian Hamas in Gaza, this match is classified as high risk by the authorities.
A reinforced security system
To prevent any overflow, the Paris police headquarters has provided a major security system around the room. The objective is “to prevent any disturbance of public order and guarantee the safety of spectators and athletes alike”. A prefectural decree indicates that this meeting is “likely to constitute a privileged and symbolic target for acts of a terrorist nature”, in a “current context of very high threat”.
The level of vigilance is such that the National Division for the Fight against Hooliganism (DNLH) has classified this match at level 4 on a scale of 5. This means high risks of tension. A similar system was put in place last October for the Nations League football match between France and Israel at the Stade de France, mobilizing no less than 4,000 police and gendarmes.
Supporters under escort
On the side of the stands, around a thousand places have been reserved for Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters in the visitors’ parking lot. 400 of them will travel from Israel, organized by the Diaspora Defense Force association. They will go to the Arena by bus, “surrounded by law enforcement and the Jewish community protection service,” explains Patrick Bensimon, co-founder of the association. He deplores “having to get there to go see a basketball game”.
Supporters will only be able to wear t-shirts and banners validated in advance by the police headquarters. No political messages will be tolerated. For its part, the Parisian kop warned that there would be “no drums, no singing, no tarpaulins” on Thursday evening. “We decided not to make this match a usual match and above all not to act as if nothing had happened” indicates the Parisii collective in a press release.
Calls for cancellation
In this tense climate, some voices were raised to simply demand the cancellation of the meeting. Posters to this effect were put up on Wednesday around the Arena, referring to a “genocide” and displaying the slogan “Free Palestine”. A prospect which is however not on the agenda, the authorities banking on a massive security system to allow the match to take place in the best conditions.
The sporting issue relegated to the background
On a purely sporting level, the stakes are high for Paris Basketball, currently in the first third of the Euroleague rankings and which faces a Maccabi team in difficulty this season with only 5 victories in 21 matches. But in this very particular context, the result will almost take second place. The main thing will be that this high-tension meeting takes place without incident, while respecting the sporting event. A challenge that the various actors hope to succeed in despite the heavy external climate.
