Football violence gaza: France mobilizes thousands of police for Israeli fight

PARIS, France –

A heavy police presence but few visiting fans is expected when France host Israel in Nations League soccer on Thursday, a week after violence broke out in Amsterdam over the visit of an Israeli club team.

French police chief Laurent Nunez said 4,000 police officers and security personnel would be deployed around the Stade de France, with another 1,500 police officers on public transport.

Paris authorities are on high alert following the violence in Amsterdam before and after a Europa League match between Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv. Dutch authorities say fans from both sides were involved in the unrest. The attacks on Maccabi fans sparked outrage and were widely condemned as anti-Semitic.

“What we learned from Amsterdam is that we have to be present in public space, even far away from the stadium,” and in public transport before and after the match, Nunez said Thursday on French news broadcaster France Info.

Three months after hosting the Olympic closing ceremony, the mood has gone from celebratory to fearful, with the national stadium expected to be empty for three quarters of an hour for the match. French President Emmanuel Macron and French Interior Minister Bruno Retaileau will be present. Former presidents Francois Hollande and Nicolas Sarkozy are also due to attend.

“We will not give in to anti-Semitism anywhere. And violence, including in the French Republic, will never prevail, nor will intimidation,” Macron told BFM television.

Only 20,000 of 80,000 tickets have been sold with around 150 Israeli supporters reportedly attending, escorted by police.

“We have tried to prepare for this game as normally as possible. But of course none of us in the team can be insensitive to such a heavy context,” France coach Didier Deschamps said on Wednesday. “It affects the amount of supporters in attendance tomorrow and everything that comes with that.”

The away match against Israel on 10 October – which France won 4–1 – was played in Budapest, Hungary.

“These are situations the players are not used to,” said Deschamps. “But we have to adapt.”

The low number of visiting fans comes after Israel’s National Security Council warned citizens abroad to avoid sporting and cultural events, particularly the match in Paris.

Retaileau told French news channel TF1 on Tuesday that no specific threats were identified, but “zero risk does not exist.”

Protesters attend a rally against the ‘Israel is Forever’ gala organized by far-right Franco-Israeli figures in Paris, Wednesday, November 13, 2024, on the eve of the UEFA Nations League 2025 soccer match between France and Israel. (AP Photo/Louise Delmotte)

Therefore, he said, extraordinary measures are in place “before the match, during the match and after the match.”

The French National Police’s elite tactical unit, known as RAID, will be at the stadium and some police will be in plain clothes and mingle with fans. There will also be heavy surveillance in Paris, including at Jewish services and schools.

“It is out of the question that we take the risk of seeing a repeat of the dramatic events, of the manhunt that we saw in Amsterdam,” Retailleau said, adding that postponing or moving the match elsewhere was out of the question.

“France is not submitting and the fight between France and Israel will take place where it is meant to be,” he said.

In Amsterdam, a number of Maccabi fans attacked a taxi and shouted anti-Arab slogans, while some men carried out “hit and run” attacks on people they believed to be Jews, according to the city’s mayor Femke Halsema.

After the match, parts of a large group of Maccabi supporters armed with sticks ran around and “destroyed things”, according to a 12-page report on the violence issued by authorities in Amsterdam.

There were also “rioters moving in small groups, on foot, scooter or car, who quickly attacked Maccabi fans before disappearing,” it said.

Protests broke out in Paris on Wednesday night against a controversial gala organized by far-right figures in support of Israel.

The match in Saint-Denis, a suburb north of Paris, is scheduled to kick off at 20:45 local time (1945 GMT).

A pro-Palestinian demonstration is organized in a Saint-Denis square at 18:00 local time to protest the match.

Nine years ago, the Stade de France was one of several sites during the November 13 terrorist attacks in which 130 people died. France were playing Germany that night when two explosions occurred outside the stadium.

Deschamps, Germany coach Joachim Löw and all the players huddled together in the dressing rooms for hours until it was safe to leave.

“It’s a sad date for us considering what happened in 2015,” Deschamps said