France ramps up security massively for Israel’s match after violence in Amsterdam

Thousands of police were deployed in Paris to ensure security for the France-Israel international football tournament taking place on Thursday, a week after violence in Amsterdam saw Maccabi Tel Aviv fans attacked.

Paris police chief Laurent Nuñez said 4,000 officers were on patrol, 2,500 at the Stade de France in the northern suburbs of Paris and the rest on public transport and inside the capital.

In addition, about 1,600 private security guards are on duty at the stadium and an elite anti-terrorism police unit is protecting the visiting Israeli team.

“This is a high-risk match [because of] Mr. Nuñez said.

“We will not allow any attempt to disrupt public order.”

The UEFA Nations League match is under scrutiny following last Thursday’s post-match violence between Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv in the Netherlands.

The stadium, which can hold 80,000 people, will only be a quarter full. Following Israeli government advice, no more than 100 Israeli fans are expected to travel to Paris, although other Israel supporters are expected to watch the match.

Politicians across Europe criticized the “return of anti-Semitism” after Israeli fans were chased through the streets of Amsterdam.

According to city authorities, it was Maccabi fans who engaged in acts of vandalism, tearing down the Palestinian flag, attacking a taxi and chanting anti-Arab slogans. They were then targeted by “small groups of rioters… on foot, by scooter or by car,” the city said in a 12-page report.

Violence between Israel and its neighbors in the Middle East threatens to spread to Europe.

France, Belgium and the Netherlands all have large Muslim populations of North African descent, and they live alongside much smaller Jewish communities, who mostly identify strongly with Israel.

To express solidarity with European Jewry after Amsterdam, President Emmanuel Macron attended Thursday’s match, which started at 20:45 (19:45 GMT).

He is expected to be joined by Prime Minister Michel Barnier as well as previous presidents François Hollande and Nicolas Sarkozy.

Supporters were required to have their identities checked before the match while bars and restaurants in the area were asked to close from the afternoon.

Stade de France was the scene of a dangerous breakdown of law and order at the Uefa Champions League final between Liverpool and Real Madrid in 2022. However, since then, the Rugby World Cup and the Paris Olympics were held peacefully there.

France’s far-left French Unyielding Party (LFI) – which sides with the Palestinians and Lebanese in conflicts with Israel – has called for Thursday’s match to be canceled, or at least for President Macron to refuse to participate. attend.

“We do not want our head of state to glorify a country that committed genocide,” LFI deputy David Guiraud said. Israel has rejected the accusations of genocide as baseless and grossly distorted.

But Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau said canceling or postponing the match was impossible. “France does not give way to those who spread hatred,” he said.

France and Israel are in the same group at the Uefa tournament, along with Italy and Belgium. In the first leg – held in Budapest – France defeated Israel with a score of 4-1.

Pre-match tensions were on display just before the match after a pro-Israel “gala” event was held in Paris, where far-right Israeli Minister Bezalel Smotrich was at one point expected to attend – although it was later suggested that his “presence” would be via video link.

Thousands of pro-Palestinian and anti-apartheid organizations held protests in the capital to coincide with the event. Clashes broke out and police used tear gas as protesters targeted a McDonald’s on Avenue Montmartre.

The relationship between Macron and Benjamin Netanyahu has become severely strained in recent weeks, after Macron accused the Israeli prime minister of “spreading barbarism” in Gaza and Lebanon.

French Jews were also upset when Macron was quoted as saying Netanyahu should accept the UN call for a ceasefire because “his country was created by UN decision.” This was interpreted by Israel as an insult to the Jews who died in their country’s war of independence.

On the contrary, France was angry when two French officials were briefly detained by Israeli authorities at a holy site in East Jerusalem, under French administration.

Macron has been described as pursuing a zigzag approach to the Middle East, as in many other areas, vacillating inconsistently between outspoken statements supporting Israel and then its Arab neighbors.