French capital hosts PSG parade after clashes marred Champions League win
A huge crowd of supporters gathered peacefully near the Eiffel Tower on Sunday to celebrate Paris Saint-Germain’s second Champions League title victory, which was marred by violent clashes overnight across France and led police to detain hundreds of people.
Interior minister Laurent Nunez said 780 people were detained in Paris and other cities and 57 officers were wounded, with most suffering minor injuries, as football fans set off fires and vandalised shops overnight.
Mr Nunez said at a news conference on Sunday that “the situation has been largely brought under control”.
“Most of the celebrations took place peacefully” across the French capital, he said, noting most incidents happened in the Champs Elysees neighbourhood and close to the Parc des Princes stadium, in western Paris, where fans had gathered to watch the match.
Fans began celebrating in Paris after the final whistle on Saturday night in Budapest, Hungary, where Paris Saint-Germain was crowned Champions League winners after beating Arsenal in a penalty shootout.
Fans marched along the avenues near Paris’ Arc de Triomphe monument, with some setting off flares and blaring car horns. Around 20,000 people gathered on the Champs-Elysees, where police worked to contain the crowd.
Planned celebrations for the team’s win on Sunday afternoon at the Champ de Mars, near the Eiffel Tower, went ahead as scheduled. Mr Nunez warned that police would respond with “firmness and determination” to any potential violence.
With the Eiffel Tower as a backdrop, up to 100,000 supporters showed up at the event that was placed under high-security measures.
Returning from Budapest late, PSG players — led by captain Marquinhos, coach Luis Enrique and club president Nasser Al-Khelaifi — were greeted by cheering crowds as the club anthem blared from loudspeakers. The players took turns lifting the trophy aloft, relishing their heroes’ welcome back home.
The team will later be hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron at the Elysee presidential palace.
Mr Nunez said incidents took place in about 15 cities in France, describing “one to two” shops vandalised in each other than Paris. He said 780 people were detained in all, with 480 of them in the Paris area alone.
Police also intervened five times overnight to prevent people from blocking traffic on the main ring road around Paris, he said.
One serious accident involved a driver losing control of a car that rammed into a restaurant’s terrace, leaving two people wounded including one seriously, Mr Nunez said.
The Paris prosecutors’ office said 306 people had been formally placed in police custody, including 81 minors, for alleged offences. Most were for assault of police officers, while other allegations included theft, vandalism and disturbing the public order. Some 40 police officers were injured.
The Paris police prefecture said smaller groups caused disturbances in various locations, with some vandalising shops and setting fires to rubbish and self-service bicycles in the streets. Cars were also set ablaze. Some who attempted to storm a police station in the 8th Arrondissement neighbourhood were dispersed, police said.
“The vast majority of Parisians celebrated it with joy, unity, and respect,” Paris mayor Emmanuel Gregoire said on Sunday in a message on X while condemning violence “in the strongest possible terms”.
In May last year, following PSG’s first title, 201 people were injured in the French capital and police made more than 500 arrests across France.
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