Exuberant PSG fans celebrate club's first Champions League title with police on alert

Winnipeg Free Press

6 days ago

PARIS (AP) — Paris erupted with flares and fireworks, car horns and an Eiffel Tower glittering in blue and red to celebrate Paris Saint-Germain's first Champions League title on Saturday.
Blowing away Inter Milan 5-0 in the final prompted flashpoints and some arrests during the game itself in Munich but watched all over Paris — including inside PSG's Parc des Princes stadium, which beamed the match on a giant screen.
Outside the stadium, there was a brief altercation during the first half between celebrating PSG fans cracking off flares, and riot police who used tear gas to disperse them.
At the top of the Champs-Élysées avenue, a water cannon was used to protect the Place de l'Étoile, near the landmark Arc de Triomphe. Police said a large crowd not watching the match tried to push through a barrier to make contact with police.
By 10:45 p.m., which was approaching the end of the match itself, a total of 81 arrests had been made, French police said.
Mindful of any celebrations getting out of hand, as has often been the case in Paris during high-profile soccer matches, PSG forward Ousmane Dembélé urged fans after the final to show restraint amid their euphoria.
'Let's celebrate but without breaking everything in Paris,' he told broadcaster Canal Plus.
It was hoped PSG's rout of seasoned campaigner Inter — a three-time Champions League winner — would grab the headlines.
'I don't have words,' said 19-year-old PSG forward Désiré Doué, who scored twice and set up one goal in a mesmerising performance. 'But what I can say is 'Thank you Paris,' we did it.'
Paris authorities had beefed up security
Security was tightened up in anticipation of potential post-match violence and 5,400 police officers were deployed on the Champs-Élysées, other key parts of Paris, and its nearby suburbs.
Two hours before the 9 p.m. kickoff, the Champs-Élysées was already teeming with fans singing and letting off flares, while the 49,000-capacity Parc des Princes had a heavy police presence outside.
At around 11:30 p.m. police said they were expecting a mass arrival of fans onto the the Champs-Élysées.
Champs-Élysées seen recent fan violence
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There were outbreaks of violence around three weeks ago after PSG eliminated Arsenal to reach the final. One car rammed into supporters and was later set on fire, while shop windows were smashed. Riot police were still dispersing rowdy fans at 3 a.m. and there were more than 40 arrests in the city.
Five years ago, disgruntled fans clashed with riot police on the avenue after their team lost to Bayern Munich in the Champions League final in Lisbon.
When PSG won the French title in 2013 — ending a wait of 19 years — celebrations were cut short on Monday following violent scenes in which fans fought with riot police for several hours, leaving 30 people injured.
There were also incidents on the Champs-Élysées following Algeria's African Cup of Nations win in 2019, and in 2021 following a match between Morocco and Algeria in the Arab Cup, and in 2022 after France and Morocco both qualified for the World Cup semifinals on the same day. ___
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer