Paris police announced on Sunday that 4,000 police officers and 1,600 stadium workers would be deployed to ensure the safety of the France-Israel soccer match, both inside and outside the pitch and on public transport, a week after the incidents that took place in Amsterdam with the participation of Israeli hooligans and citizens who fell in love with them.
France and Israel play in a UEFA Nations League match on Thursday.
“There is a context and some tensions that make this match a high-risk event for us,” Paris police chief Laurent Nounier told French broadcaster BFM TV, adding that authorities “will not tolerate” any violence.
Nounier said 2,500 police officers would be deployed around the Stade de France stadium, north of the French capital, with another 1,500 stationed in Paris and on public transport.
“There will be an anti-terrorist security perimeter around the stadium,” Nounier said. Security checks will be “reinforced”, he added, including through systematic baggage searches.
Nounier said French organizers have been in contact with Israeli authorities and security forces to prepare for the match.
On Sunday, Dutch police arrested several people for taking part in a demonstration in the center of Amsterdam that had been outlawed after violence against Israeli hooligans who had been provocative during their stay in the country but were left unarmed by police forces.
French Interior Minister Bruno Retaille confirmed on Friday that the France-Israel match will go ahead as planned.
“I think for a symbolic reason we shouldn’t back down, we shouldn’t give up,” he said, noting that sports fans from around the world had gathered for the Paris Olympics this year to celebrate the “universal values” of sport.
Read also
Gerapetritis – Fidan: “Exploratory” before the meeting Mitsotakis – Erdogan – The intentions and the “thorns”
SYRIZA Extraordinary Congress: Work begins – New “fires” and accusations from both sides
Real estate, luxury watches and… welfare benefits – How the spiral that “hit” houses of shipowners and businessmen worked
Bakoyannis: The Aegean is not a Greek lake (Video)
!function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s)
{if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod?
n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};
if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version=’2.0′;
n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;
t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];
s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)}(window, document,’script’,
‘
fbq(‘init’, ‘726515947549353’);
fbq(‘track’, ‘PageView’);
#France #police #streets #fight #Israel #incidents #Amsterdam
