1 Emmanuel Macron present out of “solidarity” after a series of violence
A distinguished guest for a match which will not be as trivial as that. The President of the Republic will attend the football match this Thursday which will pit France against Israel under high security at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, the Élysée told AFP on Sunday, confirming information from RTL . According to the president's entourage, this is in particular “to send a message of fraternity and solidarity after the intolerable anti-Semitic acts which followed the match in Amsterdam this week”.
2 Explosive context after the violence in Amsterdam
On the night of Thursday to Friday after the Europa League match against Ajax, Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters were violently attacked there by groups of individuals. Clashes which occurred in a context of increasing anti-Semitic and anti-Israeli acts since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. Thursday, however, the meeting took place in a generally calm atmosphere. However, some Israeli supporters did not respect the minute of silence in memory of the victims of the floods in Spain, a country which recently recognized the State of Palestine. The violence began after leaving the stadium. Five supporters were briefly hospitalized. Police reported around sixty people arrested and Israel organized emergency flights to repatriate its citizens.
3 Israel calls to avoid going to the match
“The National Security Council recommends that Israelis abroad act by taking precautions (…) particularly during the coming week, to completely avoid going to sporting events and cultural events in which Israelis participate, especially at the next match of the Israeli team in Paris,” this organization, which reports to the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, said in a statement. The reason given? “Organizations that want to attack Israelis have been identified in a number of European cities,” citing Brussels, major British cities, Amsterdam… and Paris.
4 A pro-Israeli rally announced on Wednesday in Paris…
Betar, an international right-wing Jewish movement, announced this Sunday that it was planning this gathering in France to fight anti-Semitism, in the presence of a far-right Israeli minister, on the eve of the match. The chosen location is still unknown. Betar plans to be alongside the French Jewish Student Movement (MEJF), on the sidelines of a gala, “Israel forever”, in support of Israel and organized by several far-right personalities, which is to host this year the Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich in Paris. Associations, unions and French left-wing parties had denounced the organization of the gala. The prefect of police, Laurent Nuñez, had however agreed to his outfit. According to him, the minister will not make the trip.
5… One week after a controversial pro-Palestinian tifo at the Parc des Princes
Before Paris SG-Atlético de Madrid, which ended in a 2-1 defeat for the Ile-de-France residents, the Collectif Ultras Paris (CUP) held a tifo with the message “Free Palestine”, around the red and blue colors of PSG, with a bloody Palestinian flag, the flag of Lebanon, Jerusalem, tanks or even a person wearing a keffiyeh. The immense canvas bearing drawings and covering the entire Auteuil stand topped a banner “War on the ground but peace in the world”. “Unacceptable” for Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau; “a call to hatred”, for the president of the Representative Council of Jewish Institutions of France, Yonathan Arfi. UEFA side? She said she would not take any action against the club, because she considered that the banner displayed could “not be considered provocative or insulting”.
6 An “unusual” deployment of security forces
A total of 4,000 police officers and gendarmes will be mobilized on Thursday for this “high risk” match, Paris police prefect Laurent Nuñez announced this Sunday. Such a deployment of law enforcement corresponds to an “extremely reinforced system”, “very unusual”, for an international match, added the police prefect on BFMTV. The 4,000 police forces will be deployed around and, rarely, in the stadium, as well as on public transport and throughout Paris. Around 1,600 security agents will also be mobilized at the Stade de France and the Raid, the elite unit of the National Police, will be engaged for the security of the Israel team, continued Laurent Nuñez.
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