A victory in the Champions League that has caused serious altercations in France. The French authorities have detained at least 416 people in different parts of the country during the incidents recorded after against Arsenal in the Champions League final, in a night of celebrations that has led to numerous altercations, especially in the French capitalwhere 283 arrests have been reported.
This was confirmed by the French Minister of the Interior, Laurent Núñez, during a press conference held at 1:30 a.m. (local time) this Sunday morning and reported by newspapers such as The Parisian o The World.
At midnight they had 336 arrests were recorded throughout France, of which 235 corresponded to the capital. Hours earlier, security forces had reported 326 arrests nationwide, according to the latest balance provided by the Paris Police Prefecture.
Thousands of fans took to the streets to celebrate the victory of the Parisian team against Arsenal in the final held in Budapest, although part of the celebrations have led to episodes of violence and material damage.
Up to 20,000 people have gathered on the Champs-Élysées, while the Police deployed different operations to control the influx of the public. Significant concentrations have also been recorded in the neighborhoods of Barbès and Strasbourg-Saint-Denis.
According to Nuñez, during the night, at least seven police officers were injured, one of them seriously, after a fall in Agen (Lot-et-Garonne), a city located on the banks of the Garonne River where violent clashes have been reported.
Likewise, a kiosk has been set on fire and several vehicles have been damaged, while several groups of individuals have tried to approach a police station in the VIII district of Paris before being dispersed by security forces.
The authorities have also reported a brief invasion of the ring road near Porte Maillot, where dozens of people have broken into the road before being evacuated. In the surroundings of the Parc des Princes, nearly a thousand people have been contained by the Police after the removal of improvised barricades.
The Prefecture has also indicated that during the security measures, 24 flares and around a hundred firecrackers or pyrotechnic mortars have been seized.
There have also been acts of vandalism against several commercial establishments and street furniture in different parts of the city.
The unrest has not been limited to Paris alone. Authorities have reported incidents in other French towns, including Grenoble and Toulouse. In the first, pyrotechnic devices were launched and damage to the windows of several stores was recorded. According to the Minister of the Interior, scenes of looting have been recorded in about fifteen cities in France.
Given the risk of altercations, the Ministry of the Interior had preventively deployed 22,000 police and gendarmes throughout the country, including some 8,000 troops in Paris and its metropolitan area.
“Our responsibility is to guarantee everyone a peaceful and totally safe public celebration,” the Prefecture of Police had previously stated, which insisted on its instructions of “responsiveness, commitment and firmness.”
