Two dead and 500 arrested in France during PSG win celebrations
More than 500 people were arrested by police during the Champions League final celebrations in France, and two people were reported dead and 192 injured, the interior ministry said on Sunday.
Wild celebrations erupted across the French capital and beyond on Saturday night after Paris St Germain crushed Italian opponents Inter Milan to win the Champions League for the first time, although skirmishes with police later threatened to spoil the party.
The interior ministry's provisional assessment as of Sunday morning was that 559 people had been arrested, including 491 in Paris, which led to 320 people being placed in police custody, 254 of them in Paris.
On the Champs Elysees, bus shelters were smashed and projectiles hurled at riot police, who fired tear gas and water cannon to push back surging crowds as thousands of supporters descended on the boutique-lined boulevard.
The interior ministry on Sunday reported hundreds of fires, including more than 200 vehicles burned. Some 22 members of the security forces and seven firefighters were harmed.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Al Arabiya
an hour ago
- Al Arabiya
France probes terror motive after man shoots dead Tunisian neighbor
French prosecutors were on Monday probing a terror motive after a man who had posted racist videos shot dead his Tunisian neighbor and badly wounded a Turkish man in the south of France. The shooting late on Saturday in Puget-sur-Argens, in the southern region of Var, came after a Malian man was stabbed to death in April in a mosque, also in southern France, as concern grows over hate crimes against Muslims. The shooting was initially investigated by regional prosecutors as a suspected murder motivated by the victim's ethnicity or religion. But French national anti-terror prosecutors, known by their French acronym PNAT, announced on Monday that they would be taking over the investigation. The suspect wanted to 'disrupt public order through terror,' according to a source close to the case. The suspected killer, a Frenchman born in 1971, fled the scene in a car but was arrested not far away after his partner alerted police. He posted videos with racist content before and after the shooting late on Saturday, according to regional prosecutor Pierre Couttenier. The victim, who was born in 1979, was shot five times. The Turkish national was wounded in the hand and needed hospital treatment, the prosecutor said. 'Swore allegiance to French flag' The suspect, a sports shooting enthusiast, 'posted two videos on his social media account containing racist and hateful content before and after his attack,' the prosecutor said. According to French daily Le Parisien, the suspect said he 'swore allegiance to the French flag' and called on the French to 'shoot' people of foreign origin in one of his videos posted on social media. The PNAT prosecutors said on Monday that they had opened an investigation into a 'terrorist plot' motivated by the race or religion of the victims. 'The racist nature of this double crime is beyond doubt, given the hateful remarks made by the killer,' said SOS Racisme, an anti-discrimination NGO. 'This tragedy echoes a series of racist crimes that have occurred in recent months,' it said, denouncing a 'poisonous climate' in the country including the 'trivialisation of racist rhetoric'. Aboubakar Cisse of Mali was stabbed dozens of times while attending prayers at the mosque in the southern French town of La Grand-Combe on April 25. A French national of Bosnian origin accused of carrying out the attack surrendered to Italian authorities after three days on the run. Italy then extradited him to France to face justice. Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau was bitterly criticised for never travelling to the scene of that crime to show solidarity, while PNAT anti-terror prosecutors also came under fire for not taking over the case and instead leaving it to regular criminal prosecutors. On Monday, Retailleau denounced the murder of a Tunisian man, calling it a 'racist act'. 'Racism in France and elsewhere is a poison, and we can see that it is a poison that kills,' Retailleau told reporters. 'Every racist act is an anti-French act.' He added that he had spoken on the phone with the Tunisian ambassador to France. He later spoke to his Tunisian counterpart, Khaled Nouri, who 'condemned a terrorist crime,' according to an official government statement. Nouri urged French authorities to 'ensure the protection of the Tunisian community on French territory,' the Tunisian statement added.
Arab News
4 hours ago
- Arab News
Djokovic, Sinner into French Open quarters as No.361 Boisson springs upset
PARIS: Novak Djokovic sailed into a record 19th French Open quarter-final on Monday, while world number one Jannik Sinner dismantled Andrey Rublev in straight sets. For the latest updates, follow us @ArabNewsSport World number 361 Lois Boisson knocked out women's third seed Jessica Pegula to become the first home quarter-finalist at Roland Garros since 2017. The 38-year-old Djokovic dusted aside Britain's Cameron Norrie in three sets, his 6-2, 6-3, 6-2 victory on Court Philippe Chatrier bringing up the Serbian's 100th match win at the French Open. His tally of 19 quarter-final appearances at Roland Garros is the record for a single Grand Slam tournament, surpassing Roger Federer's 18 Wimbledon quarter-finals. But Djokovic, a three-time French Open champion, is focused on much bigger goals as he chases a new outright record of 25 Grand Slam titles this week. 'I feel good. I know I can play better. But 12 sets played, 12 sets won, it's been solid so far,' said Djokovic, who will likely face a much more difficult test against world number three Alexander Zverev. 'It's great, but victory number 101 would be better. I'm very honored... But I need to continue now.' Djokovic has not played anyone ranked higher than 73rd through the first four rounds. Zverev is last year's runner-up and advanced when Djokovic retired injured from their last meeting in the Australian Open semifinals in January. Zverev moved into his seventh Roland Garros quarter-final when Dutch opponent Tallon Griekspoor quit with an abdominal problem while trailing 6-4, 3-0. The German is still hunting a first Grand Slam title. He lost the 2024 final to Carlos Alcaraz and then finished runner-up to Sinner in Melbourne. 'Novak Djokovic will never be a (dark) horse. For me, Carlos is the favorite,' said Zverev. 'Then I would say the next three in line are Jannik, myself, and Novak, right? I still believe that.' World number one Sinner fired a warning shot to his title rivals with a ruthless 6-1, 6-3, 6-4 victory over Russian 17th seed Rublev in the night session. Sinner, who returned from a three-month doping ban last month at the Italian Open, will face the unseeded Alexander Bublik for a place in the last four. Italy's Sinner is targeting a third consecutive Grand Slam title after lifting the US Open trophy last year and winning his second successive Australian Open in January. 'Today was a very good performance but we try to keep going and see how it goes,' said the three-time major champion. Bublik took down his second top-10 rival in Paris as the rejuvenated Kazakh came from a set behind to defeat British fifth seed Jack Draper 5-7, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4. Bublik, ranked 62nd, is into his first Grand Slam quarter-final. Boisson sent shockwaves through Roland Garros as she kept the French flag flying with an improbable 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 win over 2024 US Open runner-up Pegula, to join Coco Gauff and Mirra Andreeva in the last eight. Boisson, 22, came from a set down against last year's US Open runner-up to prolong her dream run on her Grand Slam debut. She is the first French singles quarter-finalist in Paris since Caroline Garica and Kristina Mladenovic made it to the same stage eight years ago. Mary Pierce was the tournament's last French champion in 2000. 'I really don't know what to say,' said Boisson, who was roared on by the home fans on Court Philippe Chatrier. 'To play on this court with such an atmosphere was incredible. I was confident before the match and knew I could do it even if she was really strong.' Boisson missed last year's French Open after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in her left knee a week before it started. She is the lowest-ranked woman to reach a Grand Slam quarter-final since former top-20 player Kaia Kanepi at the 2017 US Open. Kanepi had dropped to 418th at the time. Boisson goes on to face 18-year-old Russian rising star Andreeva on Wednesday for a place in the semifinals. Sixth seed Andreeva moved through in straight sets as she cut short an attempted fightback by Daria Kasatkina to advance 6-3, 7-5. Andreeva is through to her second major quarter-final, having reached the last four at Roland Garros 12 months ago when she knocked out Aryna Sabalenka. World number two Gauff brushed Russian 20th seed Ekaterina Alexandrova aside 6-0, 7-5 to step up her pursuit of a first Roland Garros crown, and second Grand Slam title. Former US Open champion Gauff will play reigning Australian Open champion Madison Keys in an all-American quarter-final.
Arab News
7 hours ago
- Arab News
Unseeded Frenchwoman Boisson stuns Pegula and joins No. 2 Gauff in the quarterfinals
PARIS: Lois Boisson had never even played at the French Open before, let alone in the biggest arena at Roland-Garros, and now the unseeded 21-year-old Frenchwoman is through to the quarterfinals. For the latest updates, follow us @ArabNewsSport Boisson, a wild card entry ranked 361st, threw her head back and roared after beating third-seeded American Jessica Pegula 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 on Court Philippe-Chatrier in Monday's fourth-round play. Quite some victory, considering Pegula was the US Open runner-up last year. Understandably, Boisson was nervous as she served for the match and saved three break points. After Pegula missed an easy-looking winner at the net, and then clutched her head in her hands, Boisson had her first match point, and the biggest point of her career so far. Pegula returned a strong serve to the back of the court, where Boisson unleashed a brilliant forehand winner down the line. She then raised her arms in the air, realizing the enormity of her win. 'I really don't know what to say, but 'Thank you to all of you'' Boisson told the crowd in her post-match interview. 'Playing on this court with such an atmosphere was really incredible.' Boisson made the notoriously hard-to-please crowd laugh when she added: 'I'm really happy on here. I can stay a long time if you like.' The crowd broke into chants of 'Lois, Lois' and she waved back to them. She was in the news last month. British player Harriet Dart apologized to Boisson after asking the chair umpire to tell her to put some deodorant on. Now she's the only French player — male or female — left at Roland-Garros. Asked what her ambitions were for the rest of the tournament — she plays sixth-seeded Mirra Andreeva on Wednesday in the quarterfinals — she replied, 'I hope to win, right?' That prompted more laughter from the crowd at Court Philippe-Chatrier, which included tournament director Amelie Mauresmo, who has been criticized in some quarters for the lack of women playing in the night session. Top-ranked Jannik Sinner was playing his fourth-round match later Monday in the night session against No. 17 Andrey Rublev, following 24-time Grand Slam winner Novak Djokovic's match against Britain's Cameron Norrie. What else happened at the French Open on Monday? In other women's fourth-round play, second-seeded Coco Gauff, the 2023 US Open champion, won 6-0, 7-5 against No. 20 Ekaterina Alexandrova. Over on Court Suzanne-Lenglen, the 18-year-old Andreeva, who reached the semifinals at Roland-Garros last year for her best performance at a major, won 7-5, 6-3 against No. 17 Daria Kasatkina. She playfully threw her wristband at Andreeva when they came to the net and Andreeva joked she would keep it. No. 7 Madison Keys also advanced on Court Suzanne-Lenglen after beating Hailey Baptiste 6-3, 7-5 in an all-American contest. There's another one coming up for Keys against Gauff. In remaining men's fourth-round play, No. 3 Alexander Zverev, last year's runner-up, was leading 6-4, 3-0 against Tallon Griekspoor when the unseeded Dutch player retired from the match. He later said it was due to an abdominal strain. Who is playing Tuesday at Roland-Garros? The quarterfinals are underway, with two men's matches and two women's matches, all on Court Philippe-Chatrier. Top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka faces Olympic champion Qinwen Zheng followed by defending women's champ Iga Swiatek against No. 13 Elina Svitolina. The first men's contest sees eighth-seeded Italian Lorenzo Musetti take on No. 15-seeded American Frances Tiafoe, before defending champion Carlos Alcaraz plays 12th-seeded American Tommy Paul.
