
Wild celebrations in Paris for PSG's Champions League win
While the majority of fans celebrated peacefully, Paris police said scuffles broke out involving fans near the city's Champs-Elysees avenue and PSG's Parc des Princes stadium, where 48,000 supporters had gathered to watch the 5-0 win against Inter Milan in Munich on big screens.
Officers detained 131 people, most of them for possession of fireworks, Paris police said.
AFP journalists saw police use a water cannon to stop a crowd reaching the Arc de Triomphe.
"Troublemakers on the Champs-Elysees were looking to create incidents and repeatedly came into contact with police by throwing large fireworks and other objects," police said in a statement.
Mostly though, fans showed their joy by singing and dancing in the streets, with cars sounding their horns, after their team won the biggest prize in European club football for the first time in their history.
One 20-year-old PSG supporter, Clement, said: "It's so good and so deserved! We have a song that talks about our struggles and it hasn't always been easy.
"But we got our faith back this year with a team without stars. They're 11 guys who play for each other."
French President Emmanuel Macron said he would host the victorious players on Sunday to congratulate them, his office said.
In a separate message on X, Macron hailed a "day of glory for PSG". "Bravo, we are all proud," he wrote. "Paris is the capital of Europe tonight."
Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo hailed it as a "historic" win.
The PSG team will hold a victory parade on the Champs-Elysees on Sunday when tens of thousands of supporters are expected to gather to get a glimpse of their returning heroes.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


France 24
an hour ago
- France 24
UN chief calls for probe into deaths near Gaza aid site
Gaza's civil defence agency said Israeli gunfire killed at least 31 people and wounded 176 near the aid distribution site in the southern city of Rafah, with AFP photos showing civilians at the scene carting away bodies and medics at nearby hospitals reporting a deluge of gunshot wound victims. The Israeli military, however, denied its troops had fired on civilians in or around the centre, and both it and the aid site's administrator accused Hamas of sowing false rumours. "I am appalled by the reports of Palestinians killed and injured while seeking aid in Gaza yesterday. It is unacceptable that Palestinians are risking their lives for food," Guterres said in a statement, without assigning blame for the deaths. "I call for an immediate and independent investigation into these events and for perpetrators to be held accountable." The Israeli government has cooperated with the group running the site, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), to introduce a new mechanism for distributing aid in Gaza that has bypassed the longstanding UN-led system. The UN has declined to work with the group out of concerns about its neutrality, with some aid agencies saying it appears designed to cater to Israeli military objectives. 'Killed right in front of me' An eyewitness from the scene in Rafah, Sameh Hamuda, 33, had told AFP he was headed towards the aid site amid a crowd of other Palestinians when "quadcopter drones opened fire on the people, and tanks started shooting". "Several people were killed right in front of me," he said. Another witness, Abdullah Barbakh, 58, also told AFP "the army opened fire from drones and tanks". Following the reports, the Israeli army said an initial inquiry found its troops "did not fire at civilians while they were near or within the humanitarian aid distribution site". Army spokesman Effie Defrin said in a video message that "Hamas is doing its best, its utmost, to stop us from" distributing aid, and vowed to "investigate each one of those allegations" against Israeli troops. "I urge you not to believe every rumour spread by Hamas," he added. GHF also denied any deaths or injuries took place, adding that "these fake reports have been actively fomented by Hamas". Israel has come under increasing international pressure to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza following a more than two-month blockade on aid that was only recently eased. The UN has warned the entire population of the territory is facing the risk of famine. It has also reported recent incidents of aid being looted, including by armed individuals. 'Points of contention' Talks aimed at securing a ceasefire and the return of hostages taken by Hamas during its October 2023 attack that triggered the war have failed to produce a breakthrough. Militants took 251 hostages during the attack, 57 of whom remain in Gaza, including 34 who the Israeli military says are dead. After the two sides failed to agree on a new ceasefire proposal last week, Hamas said it was ready to "immediately begin a round of indirect negotiations to reach an agreement on the points of contention". Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz, meanwhile, said he had told the army "to continue forward in Gaza against all targets, regardless of any negotiations". Since a brief truce collapsed in March, Israel has intensified its operations to destroy Hamas. On Monday, Gaza's civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal said 14 people were killed in an Israeli strike on a house in Gaza, "including six children and three women, in addition to more than 20 missing individuals still under the rubble". "This house has been bombed before... and people were martyred previously," resident Mousa al-Bursh told AFP. "The house primarily belongs to the Al-Bursh family, but it shelters many others, more than one family, and we don't know the number of victims inside." The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza says at least 4,201 people have been killed in the territory since Israel resumed its offensive on March 18, taking the war's overall toll to 54,470, mostly civilians. Hamas's 2023 attack on Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people, also mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures. © 2025 AFP


Euronews
an hour ago
- Euronews
Hundreds arrested as clashes continue around PSG's league victory
A further 79 people have been arrested in Paris as violence continued to disrupt Paris St Germain's (PSG) celebrations after its historic Champions League win, the capital's police chief has said. After more than 100,000 people welcomed the return of PSG players to the French capital following their 5-0 thrashing of Inter Milan in the Champions League final on Saturday, a second night of scattered violent incidents ensued. Paris police prefect Laurent Nuñez told RTL radio that groups of individuals gathered close to PSG stadium and on the Champs- Élysées avenue after midnight, causing trouble. "During the night, after 1 am, individuals with malicious intent returned to the ring road near the Parc des Princes," he said. Nuñez said that some of the people had used makeshift barriers and blocked the ring road for "at least" 15 minutes, before being dispersed by a "rapid reaction from the police." He said that other troublemakers set off fireworks and vandalised local shops, with "four or maybe five" looted. Nuñez said calm was restored by 3:30 am in the early hours of Monday. PSG had earlier put on an open-top bus parade in the city for its fans. The winners of European club football's biggest prize arrived in Paris on Sunday afternoon and headed to France's most famous avenue, the Champs-Élysées, which overnight on Saturday saw acts of violence and clashes with riot police. Police had made more than 560 arrests across France on Saturday night with Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau confirming that 307 people were being held in custody. The Interior Ministry said in a statement that 22 police officers had been injured in the violence, 18 of them in Paris. "The overall number of arrests is very high, it is completely unprecedented," Nuñez said. Celebrations were largely peaceful but degenerated into violence in some areas. A 17-year-old boy was stabbed to death in the western city of Dax during a PSG street party after the final, the national police service said. While in Paris, a man in his 20s was killed when his scooter was hit by a car during PSG celebrations.

LeMonde
2 hours ago
- LeMonde
Former Ubisoft executives on trial for sexual harassment
Three former top executives from French video game giant Ubisoft, the maker of Assassin's Creed and Far Cry, went on trial on Monday, June 2, accused of psychologically and sexually harassing employees for years. The trial, to last until Friday, was supposed to be held in March but was adjourned after lawyers complained they received some documents too late. The industry has been scrutinized for years over its treatment of women and minorities in the workplace – and the way they are depicted in games. Ubisoft launched an internal inquiry in 2020 after anonymous testimonies emerged on social media accusing the company of a toxic work culture. Several senior executives later left the firm. The executive shake-up at Ubisoft was hailed by some as a #Metoo moment in the male-dominated video game publishing industry, which has faced criticism for misogynistic imagery often found in games. One of the accused, Serge Hascoët, resigned from his post as chief creative officer. The other two – Thomas "Tommy" François, vice-president of editorial and creative services, and game director Guillaume Patrux – were dismissed for serious misconduct. All three men deny the claims. Hascoët and François arrived at the Bobigny court outside Paris on Monday morning. Employees had complained of regular public humiliation and hazing. François is the focus of the most damning claims of systematic psychological and sexual harassment at the company's offices in the eastern Paris suburb of Montreuil. Between January 2012 and July 2020, François is alleged to have often watched pornographic films in the open-plan office and commented on the appearance of female employees. Headstand in a skirt François was also accused of forcing a young employee he had just hired to do a headstand in the open-plan office while wearing a skirt. He is also accused of tying the same woman to a chair and putting her in an elevator, sending her to another floor. He also allegedly forced her to attend a work meeting after he painted her face with a felt-tip pen. In addition to the accusations of sexual and psychological harassment, François is being prosecuted for an attempted sexual assault when he tried to forcibly kiss a young employee during a Christmas party as she was held by other colleagues. According to an investigative report seen by Agence France-Presse (AFP), François encouraged "his subordinates to act in the same way." Hascoët is accused of lewd behaviour and posing intrusive questions of a sexual nature, as well as racist comments and behaviour. Following deadly jihadist attacks in Paris in 2015, he allegedly asked a Muslim employee if she agreed with the ideas of the Islamic State group. The woman had her computer desktop background changed to images of bacon sandwiches and food was placed on her desk during the Islamic fasting month of Ramadan. The third defendant, former game director Patrux, 39, has been accused of psychological harassment. Investigators spoke to dozens of witnesses during the probe, but "many refused to file a complaint for fear of reactions from the video game community," according to the report seen by AFP.