French fans vaiaram or hino national of israel and small fights were recorded inside the Stade de France, this Thursday (14), in a Nations League game overshadowed by friction surrounding the Gaza war.
Seeking to avoid a repeat of , in a Europa League game involving Maccabi Tel Aviv, 4 thousand French security agents they were .
About a hundred Israeli fans defied the government’s warning against traveling to sporting events by sitting in a corner of the 80,000-capacity stadium, which was only a fifth full.
Negative attendance record at Stade de France
Many fans avoided the game due to security concerns, which caused France to hit a negative mark: the audience of 16,611 people was the smallest for Les Bleus at the Stade de France since its inauguration in 1998. .
Some booing and whistling were heard during the playing of the Israeli national anthem, which was then blasted over loudspeakers. Israeli fans waved yellow balloons and shouted “Free the Hostages”, in reference to their compatriots arrested by Hamas militants.
As the match began, there was confusion near the Israel fans’ section for several minutes, with lots of running around and punches being exchanged. The security guards quickly formed a barrier.
It was unclear what caused the problem.
Pro-Palestine demonstrations before the game
Before the game, several hundred anti-Israel protesters gathered in a square in the Saint-Denis neighborhood of Paris, raising Palestinian flags, as well as some Lebanese and Algerian flags, to protest the match.
“We don’t play with genocide,” said one banner, referring to the Gaza war. Israel denies allegations of genocide in its more than year-long offensive against Hamas.
At the end of the match, two Palestinian flags were displayed at the south end of the stadium.
French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau said earlier this week that there was never any doubt that the match would go ahead, despite the unrest in Amsterdam that saw Maccabi fans and local groups involved in violence, according to Dutch police.
Macron was present at France x Israel
Retailleau said he had not identified specific threats from the game, but that there was no zero risk.
President of France, Emmanuel Macron went to the game as a sign of solidarity.
“We will not give in to anti-Semitism anywhere and violence, including in France, will never prevail, nor will intimidation,” he told BFM TV hours before kick-off.
