Two dead as riots follow PSG's Champions League victory in Paris

Times

2 days ago

Two people have died and almost 200 were injured as violence erupted across France after Paris Saint-Germain's victory over Inter Milan in the Champions League final.
Youths clashed with police in Paris and the provinces and at least 559 people were arrested, including 491 in the capital.
The unrest prompted a political row as critics on the left and the populist right turned on Bruno Retailleau, the interior minister.
In Paris, a man died near the Parc des Princes, PSG's stadium, when his scooter was hit by a car after the game in what appeared to be an accidental collision.
On the streets of the capital, drivers were revving engines, honking horns, weaving in and out of traffic and paying little attention to the rules of the road.
In Grenoble, a 46-year-old woman, her 17-year-old twins and her 23-year-old niece were injured after they were struck by a vehicle during celebrations. One of the twins is in a critical condition in hospital. The driver appeared to have lost control and there was no suggestion that the incident was deliberate, according to the French media.
In Normandy, a police officer was in an induced coma after being hit in the eye by a firework set off by people celebrating outside the cathedral in the town of Coutances.
Twenty-two officers were injured across the country, along with seven firefighters. The fire service said it had been called out to 692 blazes, of which 264 involved cars being set alight.
ABDUL SABOOR/REUTERS
At one point, the fire service emergency number was receiving so many calls that operators were overwhelmed.
A 17-year-old boy was stabbed to death in Dax in the southwest of the country near a fan zone set up for the final. A murder inquiry has been launched. The public prosecutor's office said the killing occurred during the celebrations but was not necessarily connected to the football. It appeared to be an 'individual act without a link to the result', it said.
Julien Dubois, the town's mayor, called for the killer, who is on the run, to be found and 'severely punished'.
In Paris, the violence started before the game had ended when mobs attacked police and set fire to dustbins on the Champs-Élysées.
Tensions worsened after the final whistle, forcing police to use tear gas, stun grenades and water cannon to repel youths as the mood veered between euphoria and violence.
Shops were looted, including a Foot Locker store on the Champs-Élysées. Looters smashed the shopfront of the Chanel boutique before being chased away by two private security guards.
There were similar scenes near the Parc des Princes, where 48,000 fans watched the game on big screens. Violence erupted outside the ground as two vehicles were set alight and police fired tear gas and stun grenades. Supporters leaving the ground, including families with children, were caught in clouds of tear gas and forced to run as riot police charged in an attempt to restore order.
Retailleau said the violence was perpetrated by 'barbarians [who] have come to Paris to commit offences and to provoke the forces of law and order. It is intolerable that we can't imagine a celebration without fearing the savagery of a minority of hooligans who do not respect anything.'
His words provoked a political row and left-wingers denounced what they said were racist overtones. Thomas Portes, a France Unbowed MP, said: 'The word 'barbarian' has no place in the language of an interior minister. Bruno Retailleau has confirmed this evening that he is a racist interior minister.'
ALAMY
Manuel Bompard, the France Unbowed co-ordinator, accused Retailleau of 'fanning the flames of discord' instead of ensuring public order.
After PSG's semi-final win over Arsenal, which also led to violent scenes, Retailleau had been anticipating trouble for the final. He announced a 'massive' deployment of 5,400 police officers in the Paris region.
The populist right National Rally denounced the operation as a 'fiasco'. Jordan Bardella, the party chair, said the risks had been 'underestimated' and the police deployment 'undersized'. Bardella said Paris had been placed in the hands of 'rioters'.
Police were again deployed in large numbers on Sunday as PSG held a victory parade on the Champs-Élysées. In an attempt to avoid the sort of incident that marred the parade in Liverpool, adjoining roads were closed and the number of people allowed to access the Champs-Élysées was limited to 110,000.
President Macron denounced the violence as he greeted PSG players at the Élysée Palace on Sunday evening. 'Nothing can justify what has happened in the last few hours,' he said. 'These violent confrontations are unacceptable. We will pursue [the culprits], we will punish [them], we will be implacable,' he said.