A skirmish involving Israel fans broke out in the stands of the Stade de France during a tense match between Israel and France’s men’s football teams, but a heavy police presence ensured a repeat of the serious violence in Amsterdam was avoided, reports The Guardian.
The game had been designated as “high risk” after the hooliganism and antisemitism witnessed in the Netherlands before and after a Europa League match between Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv last week.
The Israeli national anthem was booed by some in the crowd before kick-off and, within 10 minutes of the game starting, a small number of fans clashed on a high stand in the stadium.
The clash was quickly dealt with by the security guards, with riot police seen at the edge of the stands ready to intervene. The authorities in Paris had been on high alert.
Emmanuel Macron, who attended the game with his interior minister, Bruno Retailleau, and the prime minister, Michel Barnier, in an act of solidarity with the victims of antisemitism, said France would not accept discrimination. Former presidents François Hollande and Nicolas Sarkozy were also in the stands to watch the goalless draw.
Macron told the French TV channel BFMTV: “We will not give in to antisemitism anywhere and violence, including in the French Republic, will never prevail, nor will intimidation.”