“No to the France-Israel match”: irruption of pro-Palestine activists at the French Football Federation

Around twenty demonstrators, according to images from the online media Off Investigation which accompanied them, sat in the entrance hall of the Federation, in front of a display case of trophies. They notably sang the “Song of the Partisans”, a song of the French Resistance from the Second World War. They brandished or placed on the ground signs reading in particular “No to the France-Israel match”, “Genocide Champions League” or asking Fifa, the international federation, to ban Israel (“Ban Israel”).

“An extremely reinforced security system”

L’French team must face on November 14 that ofIsrael for the 5th day of the League of Nations at the Stade de France, “a high-risk match” in the context of war in the Middle East, said police prefect Laurent Nuñez on October 17. The meeting will be supervised by “an extremely reinforced security system outside and inside” from the enclosure, he said.

Already in July, during the Paris Olympic Games, a thousand police and gendarmes were mobilized for the men's football match between Mali and Israel at the Parc des Princes, due to calls for “mobilization” against the presence of the Israeli delegation in France because of the war in Gaza. No notable incidents had been reported. On the other hand, in September, Belgium's home match against Israel in the League of Nations was relocated to Debrecen, Hungary, and was played behind closed doors, after the refusal of several Belgian cities to host the match, fearing excesses. On October 10, during the 3rd day of the League of Nations, the Israel-France match, won 4-1 by the Blues, was also relocated to Hungary, in Budapest.

Israel vowed to destroy the Palestinian movement Hamas after its attack on October 7, 2023 which resulted in the deaths of 1,206 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP count based on official Israeli data, including hostages killed or died in captivity. Of 251 people kidnapped, 97 remain hostages in Gaza, 34 of whom were declared dead by the army. The Israeli army in retaliation launched a devastating offensive in Gaza which has left 43,341 dead to date, mostly civilians, according to data from the Hamas Ministry of Health.