The Champions League match between Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona will proceed on Tuesday in Paris, confirmed by Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez, despite recent violent protests and looting across France.
The showpiece Champions League match between Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona will go ahead as planned on Tuesday in the French capital city, the French Interior minister confirmed, despite a weekend of protests marred by violence and looting across the country.
French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu said on Monday that he has instructed prefects to impose “very limited” and “localized” curfews in cities to prevent more rioting and looting. Lecornu stated that details of the areas to be placed under curfew will be provided later.
Interior minister Laurent Nuñez spoke after an emergency meeting with top government officials, noting that the possibility of calling off planned events was discussed, including soccer matches. “But this does not apply to tomorrow’s match between PSG and FC Barcelona,” he said. Nuñez added that other matches planned in European competitions this week would not be affected, mentioning the match between Lille and Galatasaray scheduled Wednesday in the northern city, where looters also vandalized shops over the weekend.
The recent violence targeted city halls, other public buildings and hundreds of businesses across the country, leading to more than 2,000 arrests. Nuñez acknowledged that authorities had “lost control” in some major cities on Saturday, with hundreds of businesses looted.
The Tuesday match at the Parc des Princes will require a robust security deployment, with police forces already strained following weeks of student protests. In May, Paris police detained dozens of people after violence disrupted celebrations of PSG’s second Champions League title win and a group tried to storm a police station in the French capital.
Nuñez offered his resignation on Sunday, but French President Emmanuel Macron asked him to stay to respond to police needs in an emergency situation. Macron instructed Nuñez “to take all necessary steps to ensure full transparency about the failures in planning and intelligence-gathering that led to the violence.”
The decision to proceed with the match highlights the government's stance on maintaining scheduled international sporting events despite significant domestic civil unrest. It underscores the strain on French police forces, who are managing both the security of high-profile events and the aftermath of widespread looting and protests.
Sources
This article was drafted with AI assistance and checked against the sources above. Company claims are reported as claims. Cover image is AI-generated.
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