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The French team will play well in France. After the violence on the sidelines of a Europa League football match in Amsterdam between Ajax and Maccabi Tel-Aviv on the night of Thursday to Friday, the match between the Blues and Israel, scheduled for November 14 at the stadium of France will not be relocated, Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau announced this Friday, November 8.
“Some are calling for the relocation of France-Israel match. I do not accept it: France is not backing down because that would amount to abdicating in the face of threats of violence and anti-Semitism”wrote Bruno Retailleau on his X account. “At my request, the prefect of police Laurent Nunez is making the necessary security arrangements for this match to take place at the Stade de France, as usual,” he added.
Some are calling for the France-Israel match to be relocated. I do not accept it: France is not backing down because that would amount to abdicating in the face of threats of violence and anti-Semitism.
At my request, the Chief of Police, @NunezLaurent takes security measures…— Bruno Retailleau (@BrunoRetailleau) November 8, 2024
The RN deputy Julien Odoul notably proposed on Thursday to move the League of Nations meeting to Corsica while, at the beginning of November, the Insoumis Louis Boyard requested its outright cancellation. “I don’t want this match to happen,” declared the deputy for Val-de-Marne, relaying a petition asking for the cancellation of this meeting of the League of Nations.
The first leg, played on October 10 and won by the Blues (4-1), took place in Budapest. On September 6, the League of Nations meeting between Belgium and Israel did not take place in Brussels, as initially planned. It had been relocated to Debrecen in Hungary for security reasons.
A reinforced security system
2,500 security forces will be mobilized for the match, distributed around the stadium and the Israeli selection hotel. CRS companies will also patrol Paris. Finally, the first rows of the Stade de France, closest to the pitch, will not be occupied, to avoid any invasion of the pitch, another police source told AFP. The Stade de France should not be full anyway, according to this same source, with less than 20,000 tickets sold.
Benjamin Netanyahu also ordered Mossad, Israeli foreign intelligence, to develop an action plan to prevent violence during future sporting events. Israeli authorities also called on fans to avoid a Maccabi Tel Aviv basketball game Friday night against Bologna in Italy, casting doubt on the presence of Israeli fans for the match against France next week.
