Two dead, hundreds arrested in France as ‘barbarians’ spoil Champions League party

Paris: Two people died and a police officer was left in a coma after a string of violent incidents marred nationwide celebrations in France at the weekend following Paris Saint-Germain’s Champions League victory.

A 17-year-old boy was stabbed to death in the city of Dax during a street party after Saturday night’s final in Munich, police said, and a man was killed in Paris when his scooter was hit by a car, the interior minister’s office said, as crowds clashed with police in the city centre.

Fireworks explode over riot police on the Champs-Elysees after the Champions League final soccer match between Paris Saint-Germain and Inter Milan.Credit: AP

At least four people from the same family were reportedly injured when a car ploughed into a celebrating crowd in Grenoble, south-east France, The New York Times reported. The driver fled the scene before handing himself in to authorities.

France’s interior minister condemned the perpetrators as “barbarians”, while President Emmanuel Macron said the scenes were unacceptable and that those involved would be found and punished.

The French Interior Ministry said 192 people were injured in violence in the early hours of Sunday (French time) and 559 people were arrested, including 491 in Paris, the BBC reported.

Twenty-two police officers and seven firefighters were injured, the ministry said, and 264 vehicles were set on fire.

A police officer was hit by fireworks in Coutance in north-west France and placed in an artificial coma because of serious eye injuries, police said, while in Paris, a water cannon was used to repel a large crowd that tried to break through police barriers on the Champs-Elysees.

Paris police chief Laurent Nuñez told a news conference that thousands of people intent on violence had confronted police and set fire to vehicles in the city centre.

At least four shops were ransacked near the Champs-Elysees, Nunez said, while others had their windows broken. He said 192 people were injured in the clashes, including four severely. Nine police or military personnel were slightly injured, he said.

Two cars were also set alight close to Paris Saint-Germain’s Parc des Princes stadium, police said.

‘There to attack police’

Nuñez described the city’s security operation, which involved 5400 officers, as “neither a success nor a failure”, but said that “thousands of people who came to commit atrocities [were] in most cases, prevented from doing so”.

The police chief said clashes began as soon as the game kicked off, involving people who were “clearly there to attack police, commit looting and damage”.

However, at the final whistle, the Associated Press witnessed joyous scenes at the Place de la Bastille as fans climbed onto the base of the famous July Column, singing, dancing and letting off flares, while those around joined in.

PSG players celebrate after their victory in Munich.Credit: AP

At one point, motorbikes loudly revved their engines, and the crowd cheered as they did laps around the column. There were no police nearby, and by 1am, the atmosphere remained upbeat with no tensions and plenty of singing.

PSG’s Champions League title is the first in the club’s history. The team won Europe’s top-level club soccer competition by beating Inter Milan 5-0 in Munich.

In a statement, PSG said the violent scenes were isolated acts that “in no way represent the vast majority of our supporters”.

A club victory parade in central Paris went ahead on Sunday afternoon, despite the earlier clashes, but with a heavy security presence, as Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau warned that police would not tolerate further abuse.

“The internal security forces have been instructed to intervene systematically and immediately if they observe any violence”, the London Telegraph reported.

“They are barbarians; barbarity is when everything becomes a pretext for violence,” Retailleau said.

AP

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