Two dead, 559 arrested during Champions League final celebrations: French ministry
1 June 2025 12:56
PARIS (AFP)Two people died in France and 559 were arrested during celebrations after Paris Saint-Germain's stunning Champions League final victory over Inter Milan, the French interior ministry said on Sunday.
A 17-year-old was stabbed to death in the southwestern town of Dax during a gathering to celebrate the Parisians' victory, while a man riding a scooter died after he was hit by a car in the southwest of Paris, the ministry said, adding that 559 people were arrested, including 491 in the capital.
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Middle East Eye
11 hours ago
- Middle East Eye
French mayor bans Palestine flag and protests after PSG victory incidents
The mayor of Chalon-sur-Saone, in west-central France, has announced that he was banning the Palestinian flag in the city, calling it a "rallying sign" following the urban "riots" that broke out after Paris Saint-Germain's (PSG) victory on Saturday night. The Parisian football club's win in the Champions League final against Inter Milan was marred by unrest and violence in various cities across the country, which led to more than 550 arrests - including 490 in Paris. Hundreds of cars were torched in the capital and fireworks set off, while youths clashed with police, reports said. "Events of the most extreme gravity took place last night in our city," Mayor Gilles Platret wrote in a statement on Sunday. "Individuals chose to seize the opportunity to create disorder on a political basis," he said, adding that "one of the riot leaders" was "conspicuously displaying a Palestinian flag as a rallying sign". New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters "The Palestinian flag has become the symbol of the rioters, the rallying sign of Islamist gangs determined to defy republican institutions," the mayor said. Platret announced a decree banning the Palestinian flag from the town of 45,000 inhabitants as well as its sale in markets starting Monday. The decree also prohibits "all pro-Palestine demonstrations in Chalon". The mayor justified the move "by a need for security", citing video surveillance footage. On Monday evening, Platret reiterated his comments on X: "What if we talked a little about what is hiding behind the Palestinian flag? […] Strategies are established, infiltration is planned, interference is at work. Muslim Brotherhood? Islamic Republic of Iran? Or another hostile state?' 'The hypotheses are numerous, even intersecting. But the fact remains: the Palestinian flag has become the catalyst for unrest among the youth of the neighbourhoods with the aim of fracturing the country," he wrote. Platret's decision sparked an outcry from left-wing political groups and NGOs. Aline Mathus-Janet, co-president of the local branch of the Ligue des Droits de l'Homme, denounced the measure as unjust and "totally illegal". Islamist 'entryism': French Muslims refuse to be labelled 'enemies' within Read More » The only Palestinian flag seller in the city centre also reacted by asking why the Palestinian flag was banned and not the others. "Perhaps only because these people are dark-skinned and that bothers the right-thinking people [...] the pro-Zemmour crowd, convicted multiple times of incitement to hatred [...] history will judge," he said. The vendor was referring to Eric Zemmour, president of the far-right Reconquete! party and former candidate in the 2022 presidential election, who has been convicted of incitement to religious hatred against Muslims and incitement to racial hatred, among other offences. "Selling Palestinian flags had no other purpose than to show my support for a people who has been subjected to genocide, which should be the reflex of every human being worthy of the name," he added. Late on Monday afternoon, around 250 people came to defy the ban on demonstrations in front of the town hall to protest the municipal decree. Some demonstrators flew the Palestinian flag or displayed its colours on their clothing. 'Grossly illegal' The Ligue des Droits de l'Homme and various local politicians have indicated they are considering legal action to have the municipal decree overturned. Legal experts have challenged the legality of the order and predicted its rapid suspension by the administrative courts. Nicolas Hervieu, a lawyer specialising in public and European human rights law, denounced the decree as "grossly illegal" and "completely disproportionate". "The question here is to determine whether displaying or selling a flag can be presented as the cause of the unrest," he told TF1info. Netanyahu 'unsettled' by Macron's push to recognise Palestinian statehood Read More » "The answer is clearly no," the lawyer said, adding that flying a flag is protected as a right to freedom of expression. The situation would be different, he explained, if the flag bore symbols prohibited by law, such as those of the Nazi party. In July 2014, the courts suspended, due to its "disproportionate nature", an order by the right-wing mayor of the southern city of Nice, Christian Estrosi, prohibiting the "ostentatious use" of foreign flags during the World Cup. The order implicitly targeted Algerian supporters. Platret, who has been the mayor of Chalon-sur-Saone since 2014, is no stranger to issuing controversial decrees, most of which were overturned by the courts. He notably banned pork-free menus in school canteens, tried to impose the use of French on construction sites and refused to validate a French-Turkish wedding, before being forced to do so by the courts. The mayor, a former vice-president of the right-wing Les Republicains (LR) party who was reportedly tempted to align himself with Zemmour, has repeatedly positioned himself as a defender of the "French people" against the "ethnic cleansing" allegedly practised by "Muslim blocs".
Khaleej Times
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French minister eyes tougher sentences after violence mars PSG celebrations
French Justice Minister Gerald Darmanin on Tuesday said he wanted tougher punishments for anyone convicted of violence against police, after clashes and car-torching this weekend marred celebrations of Paris Saint-Germain's Champions League triumph. Police detained hundreds of people during festivities following PSG's victory in the European football showcase in Germany on Saturday and their triumphant return home the following day. PSG thrashed Inter Milan by a record 5-0 in the final to win the biggest prize in European club football for the first time. The victory sparked delirious celebrations in France, that were marred by some violence. Police arrested 563 people on Saturday night, the interior ministry said, after more than 200 cars were torched and police clashed with youths. In the southwest town of Dax, a 17-year-old boy died after being stabbed in the chest. A 23-year-old man riding a scooter in central Paris also died after a vehicle hit him. Authorities detained 79 others on Sunday night, including for allegedly firing fireworks at security forces, trying to vandalise shops and blocking traffic. Some of these appeared in court on Monday, with three men in their early twenties receiving suspended sentences of two to eight months, along with a 500-euro ($570) fine, the Paris prosecutor's office said. Others were set to appear before a magistrate on Tuesday. Darmanin, who has expressed interest in standing in the 2027 presidential election, argued the first court sentences were not tough enough. "Some of the sentences for violence, including against law enforcement officers and for destruction of property, are not proportional to the level of violence our country is experiencing," the former interior minister said on X. "The law needs to radically change," he added. Darmanin called for an end to obligatory adjustments for jail terms of fewer than six months, which for example allow detainees to serve time at home with an electronic bracelet. He called for an end to suspended sentences in such cases and a law to set up a "systematic minimum sentence" for those found guilty. He suggested "a minimum of three months in jail for any assault against a representative of the state or a very steep fine for any destruction". Aurelien Martini, deputy secretary-general of the magistrates union, responded that minimum sentences — previously tried from 2007 to 2014 — did not work. If the goal is "to put more people in prison, it's physically not possible," he said, alluding to overcrowding. France's prison population hit a record high on May 1, with more than 83,600 inmates held in facilities that have a capacity of around 62,500, justice ministry data has shown. Socialist leader Olivier Faure added that the judiciary should first and foremost be "fair" and examine each individual case, not respond "to collective emotion". The right-wing head of the Paris region Valerie Pecresse supported Darmanin's idea, saying it was the "only hope for this violence, this ransacking to never happen again". Receiving the triumphant team at the Elysee palace on Sunday, President Emmanuel Macron condemned what he called "unacceptable" violence during the festivities. Many of the stars of PSG, one of the youngest in the competition, are drawn from the huge football talent pool in the Paris suburbs. A total of 11.5 million people tuned in across France to watch the match.
Middle East Eye
a day ago
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French man kills Tunisian neighbour in suspected racist attack in Puget-sur-Argens
A French man killed a Tunisian neighbour in Puget-sur-Argens, southeastern France, on Saturday evening and wounded a Turkish man, the local prosecutor's office said on Sunday. The suspect "shared two videos on his social media account containing racist and hateful content before and after his attack," the prosecutor said in a statement. 'Today I'm cleaning,' the killer reportedly said in one of the videos. According to the prosecutor's office, it has opened an investigation into the charges of murder committed "because of the victim's true or supposed membership or non-membership of a specific ethnic group, nation, alleged race or religion, committed concurrently with another crime, and attempted murder." According to a source, who spoke to AFP, the deceased man, in his 30s, was hit by five bullets. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters The 53-year-old suspect, who is in police custody, is a sports shooter. Several weapons were found in his vehicle, "including an automatic pistol, a shotgun and a handgun," the prosecutor said. On Sunday night, the SOS Racisme association denounced in a communique that "racism has struck again in our country. 'These crimes thrive in a poisoned climate: trivialisation of racist discourse, media complacency towards the far right and worrying institutional signals,' the statement read. "The double crime that struck two men in Puget-sur-Argens is not a bolt from the blue. It is the result of meticulous work carried out by the racist camp, aimed at once again legitimising the expression of racism in words and deeds." "Faced with this sinister development, it is urgent that political leaders and the media stop ignoring anti-racist discourse, when they are not working to marginalise it," the NGO's president, Dominique Sopo, said, warning that France was 'on the eve of a shift that, in reality, is already underway." Rise in hate crimes The case recalls the murder of Aboubakar Cisse, a 22-year-old Malian man stabbed to death while he was praying in a mosque in La Grand-Combe, in southern France, on 25 April. The attacker inflicted 57 stab wounds on his victim while filming the scene and uttering Islamophobic remarks. "I did it [...]. Your shitty Allah, your shitty Allah", declared the killer, Olivier Hadzovic, who was later indicted and imprisoned for "murder based on religion". The terrorist motivation requested by the victim's family and their lawyer was not retained. After the murder, President Emmanuel Macron declared that "racism and religious hatred have no place in France," while Prime Minister Francois Bayrou called the attack an "unspeakable Islamophobic act". Rallies were organised throughout the country to denounce Islamophobic violence and the perceived unequal treatment of hate crimes. French Muslims find 'Islamophobic' violence is overlooked after mosque murder Read More » Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau, known for his tough stance on migrants and what he calls the fight against "political Islam," was particularly criticised for failing to issue an immediate statement. Retailleau also refused to recognise the Islamophobic nature of the attack, sparking a debate over the term itself, which he wrongly said was coined by the Muslim Brotherhood. After the murder, Abdallah Zekri, vice president of the French Council of the Muslim Faith (CFCM) and chairman of the Observatory Against Islamophobia, told Middle East Eye that the characterisation of the murder should be unequivocal. "This is an Islamophobic crime, the worst of all those committed in France against our community," he told MEE. "After the desecration of graves, vandalism of Muslim places of worship and businesses, insults and physical violence, they are now killing worshippers inside mosques," he added, in reference to numerous incidents that have targeted French mosques in recent years, including arson attacks and pig heads found at their doors. According to the National Directorate of Territorial Intelligence, anti-Muslim acts have increased by 72 percent in the first trimester when compared to the same period last year. Zekri said the murder was "the result of a growing stigmatisation of Muslims in France," fuelled by the shift to the right of the political class and the growth of Islamophobic rhetoric. On Sunday, following the latest hate crime, the leader of the left-wing France Unbowed party, Jean-Luc Melenchon, denounced on X an "infamous racist murder." "Let us not allow officials to stir up racist hatred by legitimising it. This is a message of compassion for the attacked family. All informed French people think the same and note the dangerous failure of Bruno Retailleau." The latter reacted to the crime on Monday, expressing "[his] compassion for the victim's loved ones and [his] solidarity with the Tunisian community in France for this unbearable crime." "The investigation will determine whether the racist nature of these acts is established, but videos published by the perpetrator leave no doubt on this point."
