Emmanuel Macron will be present, the Israeli authorities call on their nationals not to go to the Football match

The Football match between the French team and the Israeli selection, which will be held on the evening of Thursday, November 14 at the Stade de France, in Saint-Denis (Seine-Saint-Denis), will take place with a security system “extremely reinforced”assured the Paris police prefect, Laurent Nuñez, Sunday November 10, on BFM-TV.

The meeting had long been identified as “at risk” by the football authorities and the authorities, taking into account the international context. But the violence that occurred on the night of November 7 to 8, where Maccabi Tel-Aviv supporters were targeted in Amsterdam after a Europa League match against Ajax, revived fears about the security of the event.

The system adopted by the prefecture is “very unusual” for a selection meeting, recognized Mr. Nuñez. Four thousand police officers and gendarmes will be mobilized – “compared to 1,200-1,300 for French team matches when we are in a sold-out stadium”. They will be deployed around the Stade de France, but also within it, on public transport and even in Paris.

Nearly 1,600 security agents will also be present at the Stade de France and the RAID, the elite unit of the national police, will be responsible for the security of the Israel team, he continued, explaining work in “close collaboration” with the Israeli authorities. “But security (…) comes under the French authorities”he insisted.

No reduced number of spectators

“The minister [de l’intérieur] has placed at my disposal means of internal security force which will allow us to be extremely reactive and to prevent any excess, any disturbance to public order, either during the match, or in the immediate surroundings of the match , or on the path of spectators who will go to the match »argued Mr. Nuñez.

The controls will also be “extremely reinforced”with double identity verification, “search and palpation” : at the security perimeter held by the police, then at the entrance to the enclosure.

The police did not “requested that there be a limited tonnage” for this meeting, said the police chief. The France-Israel poster should be held in front of a reduced audience: on Sunday, the French Football Federation estimated the number of tickets sold to date for the match at “around 20,000”very far from the approximately 80,000 seats at the Stade de France.

Emmanuel Macron present

Emmanuel Macron will attend the football match on Thursday, the Elysée reported on Sunday to Agence France-Presse (AFP), confirming information from RTL. According to the entourage of the President of the Republic, these include “to send a message of fraternity and solidarity after the intolerable anti-Semitic acts which followed the match in Amsterdam this week”.

The Israeli authorities, for their part, called on supporters on Sunday to avoid going to the match. “The National Security Council recommends that Israelis abroad act with precautions (…) particularly during the coming week, to completely avoid going to sporting events and cultural events in which Israelis participate, especially the next match of the Israeli team in Paris”said this organization, which depends on the Prime Minister’s office, in a press release.

“Groups that want to attack Israelis have been identified in a number of European cities”said the National Security Council on Sunday, citing Brussels, major British cities, Amsterdam and Paris “on the occasion of the anticipated match of the Israeli national team”. The organization also recommended that Israelis abroad not “not highlight recognizable Israeli or Jewish signs, including when ordering a taxi through an application”.