French authorities have beefed up security plans for a football match on Thursday (14) between their national team and Israel, seeking to avoid violence similar to the attacks on Israeli fans in Amsterdam last week.
President Emmanuel Macron announced that he will attend the game to “send a message of brotherhood and solidarity following the intolerable anti-Semitic acts” that occurred last week following a Europa League match between Ajax Amsterdam and Maccabi Tel Aviv of Israel.
The upcoming match will be a major test for France, home to Europe’s largest Jewish and Muslim communities and where conflicts in the Middle East have historically reverberated in the form of protests and a rise in anti-Semitic incidents.
Since Hamas’ attack on Israel on October 7 and the subsequent bombing of Gaza, tensions have emerged across Europe as pro-Palestinian protests have spread.
Laurent Nuñez, chief of police for the Paris region, said that “extremely strengthened measures” would be put into practice taking into account the lessons from Amsterdam, namely that violent attacks occurred not only at the stadium but also around the city and in public transport.
“We need to be present everywhere… in the center of Paris,” he told BFMTV on Sunday. “Incidents can potentially happen anywhere.”
A force of 2,500 police officers will be deployed to the Stade de France on the northern outskirts of Paris, while another 1,500 will be present on public transport and spread across the capital. The force is double the size of the usual deployment of up to 2,000 officials for so-called high-stakes games.
Around 1,600 private security guards will also be deployed at the stadium.
“Spectators who go to this game will have complete security,” said Nuñez. “We will not tolerate any disturbances, any interruptions.”
The decision to hold the France vs Israel match in the presence of fans and not behind closed doors was taken by Bruno Retailleau, Minister of the Interior, and approved by Prime Minister Michel Barnier.
They chose not to move the Uefa League match to a neutral country, as Turkey did for an upcoming game between Istanbul’s Beşiktaş and Maccabi Tel Aviv later this month, which will be played in Hungary without spectators.
“France is not backing down, as this would amount to giving in to threats of violence and anti-Semitism,” Retailleau said. “We are in France, and I want a football match, even if it is France-Israel, to be able to take place under normal conditions.”
Former French presidents Nicolas Sarkozy and François Hollande also plan to attend the highly symbolic event.
Ticket sales were timid, with only around 20,000 sold for the stadium which has a capacity of around 80,000.
Several violent incidents occurred in Amsterdam on Thursday before and after the Ajax-Maccabi match, with five people taken to hospital and later released.
Israeli fans were chased through the streets and attacked, according to Dutch authorities. Maccabi fans also tore down a Palestinian flag and shouted anti-Arab slogans, police said.
Israeli authorities on Sunday urged the country’s citizens to take precautions when traveling abroad and “totally avoid sporting or cultural events in which Israelis are participating, especially the upcoming Israel national team match in Paris.”
Jean-Christophe Couvy, a police union leader, said he was confident police could ensure the safety of the match and the city on Thursday using a plan similar to that implemented during the Paris Olympics.
“If you put a large number of police officers on the streets, you occupy the ground and stop things from getting out of control,” Couvy said.
