More than 400 people were arrested across France after Paris Saint-Germain’s Champions League final victory over Arsenal triggered clashes, fires and damage that spread from the capital into other parts of the country. Police said 416 people had been detained in the early hours of Sunday, including 280 in Paris, after a night of unrest that left seven officers injured.
The arrests came after PSG won the final in a penalty shootout on Saturday night and the Champs-Élysées was soon swarmed by fans. In the city centre, police fired tear gas to disperse crowds as fireworks and flares went up and footage showed burning electric bikes and revellers smashing the glass of at least one shopfront. Bus, train and rail services in Paris were disrupted, underscoring how quickly a celebration turned into a public safety operation.
Thousands of officers had been deployed to curb unrest in Paris, but the scale of the trouble still ran through the police response. Laurent Nuñez, the interior minister, called the violence absolutely unacceptable and said authorities had put a very robust, very solid system in place. Even so, police said six vehicles, two businesses and a bus shelter were damaged, a reminder that the security net held only so far before the damage was done.
Earlier in the day, police had already clashed with supporters gathered at PSG’s Parc des Princes to watch the final on giant screens, adding to fears that the night could turn volatile. There was similar violence when PSG won the same trophy last year, and that celebration turned deadly, which is why the strength of the police deployment matters as much as the arrest count. Marine Le Pen also weighed in, saying only in France does a football club’s victory spark riots and force people to lock themselves in their homes to avoid violence.
Players are due to take part in a victory parade on Sunday afternoon that will take them along the Champ-de-Mars beside the Eiffel Tower before a reception with French President Emmanuel Macron. The question now is whether the celebration can stay under control when the team returns to the streets that were already left scarred by the Paris riots.
