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The authorities are preparing for an evening at “high risk”, Thursday, November 14 at the Stade de France, when France and Israel will face off in a Nations League match. A total of 4,000 police and gendarmes will be mobilized to secure the match in Saint-Denis. Such a deployment of law enforcement corresponds to a “extremely reinforced device”, “very unusual”for an international match, announced the Paris police prefect, Laurent Nuñez.
It must be said that the sporting event is part of “a very tense geopolitical context” – reference to the conflict currently underway in the Middle East and the tensions it arouses. Above all, it will occur one week to the day after the outbreak of violence in Amsterdam, on November 7, on the sidelines of a Europa League match between Ajax Amsterdam and Maccabi Tel-Aviv. Several people were injured, with the clashes sparking international condemnation. In France, voices were even raised for the meeting against Israel to be relocated: “France is not backing down because that would amount to abdicating in the face of threats of violence and anti-Semitism,” replied Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau on his X account.
20,000 tickets sold
The 4,000 police forces will be deployed around and, rarely, in the stadium. Some of it will also be on public transport and in Paris. Around 1,600 security agents will also be mobilized at the Stade de France. The Raid, the elite unit of the national police, will be engaged for the security of the Israel team.
“We will not tolerate any excesses and disturbances to public order”insisted the police prefect, adding that controls to enter the stadium would be “extremely reinforced”. However, he specifies that the police did not “requested that there be a limited gauge” in the stadium for this Nations League meeting. On Sunday, the French Federation (FFF) for its part estimated the number of tickets sold for the meeting at “around 20,000” very far from the approximately 80,000 seats available at the Stade de France, while specifying that the ticket office was still open.