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Security in Paris tight for Israel-France football match

November 14, 2024

Police in Paris have prepared for a "high risk" situation as Israel take on France in a Nations League encounter. The measures come after last weeks violent clashes in Amsterdam.

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French police vehicles outside the Stade de France stadium
Thousands of security personnel will be deployed in the French capital for the Nations League match between Israel and FranceImage: Franck Fife/AFP/dpa/picture alliance

Authorities in France have launched a large-scale security operation in Paris ahead of a Nations League match between Israel and France on Thursday.

The chief of police in France said that 4,000 police officers would be stationed in the capital and around the Stade de France stadium in the northern suburb of Saint-Denis.

Another 1,500 officers are to be deployed on public transport.

An elite police unit will guard the Israeli team and another 1,600 civilian security personnel will be on duty at the match.

On Sunday, Paris police chief Laurent Nunez said authorities "won't tolerate" any violence at the match.

"There's a context, tensions that make that match a high-risk event for us," Nunez told French news broadcaster BFM TV.

Security personnel stationed outside the Stade de France
French authorities wan to avoid the fixture becoming another flashpoint of violence following the clashes in the NetherlandsImage: Fred Dugit/LE PARISIEN/MAXPPP/dpa/picture alliance

Tightened measures after Amsterdam violence

The tightened measures come after last weeks violent clashes when Israeli club side Maccabi Tel Aviv played against Ajax Amsterdam.

Amsterdam police had said tensions started building ahead of the match, when Maccabi fans burned a Palestinian flag in the city center and vandalized a taxi.

Social media videos, some of which have been verified, showed Israeli fans engaging in other acts of provocation, chanting "Death to the Arabs" and "Let the IDF win," referring to the Israeli military. 

Following the violence, Dutch authorities said that Israeli fans had been specifically targeted in "hit and run" attacks.

Footage from the night showed some Israeli fans being chased and beaten on the streets of Amsterdam. 

Amsterdam authorities took the steps to impose a three-day ban on pro-Palestinian protests after the clashes.

Dutch vow to prosecute those behind Amsterdam clashes

Fewer fans expected

French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau said on Wednesday that around 13,000 spectators were expected to attend the fixture.

This is lower than the figure of 25,000 announced by Sports Minister Gil Averous earlier Wednesday.

In the aftermath of last week's violence Israel's government advised citizens to avoid attending cultural and sporting events taking place abroad this week.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said it had intelligence that pro-Palestinian groups were planning to cause harm to Israelis in the Netherlands, the UK, France, Belgium and elsewhere.

kb/lo (AFP, AP)