Israeli football fans clash with France supporters as Paris puts on high alert after Amsterdam attacks

Israeli and French fans got into a brief altercation during Thursday’s Nations League soccer match, which had a heavy security presence following the anti-Semitic violence in Amsterdam this week.

Right after the match started at At 20:45 local time, officials reported a small brawl between Israeli and French soccer fans in an upper section of the Stade de France in Saint-Denis.

Some of those involved in the brawl wore Israeli flags draped over their backs as they wrestled with other people in the stands.

Security personnel rushed to stop the fighting, which lasted only a minute, according to local police. It is still unclear what caused the altercation.

Ahead of the match, 4,000 police officers and security personnel were deployed to the stadium to keep the peace after two nights of violence in Amsterdam, with a further 1,500 officers deployed on the city’s public transport platforms.

“What we learned from Amsterdam is that we have to be present in public space, even far away from the stadium,” said French police chief Laurent Nuñez.

Reporters at the match noted that in certain areas of the stadium, the sheer security presence appeared to exceed the actual number of fans who showed up for the match due to fears of another mass attack by Jewish fans.

Fewer than 20,000 of the 80,000 available tickets were sold for the match, with only about 150 Israeli supporters in attendance, officials said.

The low turnout was likely a result of the warning from Israel’s National Security Council, which urged citizens to avoid sports and cultural events after the incident in Amsterdam.

During the France match, opposing fans also jeered and whistled over the Israeli national anthem, adding to the tensions already prevalent outside the stadium.

Hundreds of demonstrators gathered in the city to protest the fight and Israel’s war in Gaza and Lebanon.

Unlike the demonstrations in Amsterdam, French police reported no incidents during the protest.

French President Emmanuel Macron had vowed to avoid the mistake in Amsterdam that left more than two dozen people injured when anti-Israel protesters attacked visiting Maccabi Tel Aviv soccer fans.

The attacks, criticized as a modern-day pogrom, forced Macron to mobilize the French police force in the days ahead of Sunday’s match.

“We will not give in to anti-Semitism anywhere. And violence, including in the French Republic, will never prevail, nor will intimidation,” Macron told French media just before the game began.

With Post wires

This is a developing story, please check back for updates.