what happened in the stands during France-Israel? – Liberation

The France-Israel match at the Stade de France on Thursday November 14 was held under high tension. Despite very sparse stands and a significant police force outside and, exceptionally, inside the stadium, clashes broke out in the stands. Quickly after the start of the match, numerous videos were published on social networks. They notably show supporters running in the stands and hitting each other.

The scene took place around 8:55 p.m., in the north stand of the stadium, near gates N3 and N4. The match is in progress, it started a little over eleven minutes ago when a crowd movement occurred above row 116.

Two videos filmed in wide shots, from two different points of view, show several men in black, some of whom have their faces covered, kicking and punching in the direction of a person who is visibly on the ground. They are immediately joined by men carrying Israeli flags on their shoulders.

About thirty seconds later, several stewards, dressed in orange bibs, intervened, trying as best they could to separate the people involved in the fight.

“Particularly virulent group of Israel supporters”

Other images, filmed from the right of the stage, show French supporters moving away from the movement of the crowd behind them. The violence took place not far away, just behind the ramp separating French supporters from a group of Israel supporters. As the man filming gets closer, we see security agents arrive and exfiltrate a dark-haired man, dressed in a black coat. No injuries are apparent. He shouts and, a few seconds later, tries to return to the Israel supporters. He is prevented from doing so. At the same time, Israel supporters came up to him and followed him until he left the stands, behind a cordon of police.

Another video shows what happens next. While the evacuation of the exfiltrated man takes place through gates N3 and N4, an Israel supporter, easily identifiable with his khaki cap, his Israeli army t-shirt and an Israeli flag tied around his shoulders , shouts an insult in his direction.

Secondly, another person is also exfiltrated by security agents. A Tik Tok video shows, in the same place, a few seconds after the first, another man with a hood on his head, being taken out of the stands.

This sequence of events established by the various videos is corroborated by a witness from CheckNews. The latter was in stand N5: “I was watching the match when scuffles broke out to my left. I saw a horde of people running towards me and a crowd of around ten people forming towards the side of the stand reserved for a group of particularly virulent Israel supporters, dressed in black, some with masked faces. They were hitting a man on the ground. Security intervened to extract the guy on the ground, who wanted to punch. And meanwhile, Israel supporters were trying to add to it.”

Our witness not having been present at the starting point of the brawl, he does not know its precise origin. It is established that Palestinian flags were brandished in the stands, in various places in the stadium (notably on the other side, in Block Z). But there is nothing to indicate, at the moment, that this is what started the fight, at this precise location.

“An investigation is open”

The Parisianin his account of events, indicates that the altercation “took place after a provocation from the French camp, according to several witnesses”. At the same time, a video shows the testimony of France supporters assuring the police that they had been attacked. We see a woman showing images on her phone and saying: “There they start to arrive, there they start to arrive around us, all of us.” Then a man said to the police: “Hey guys, it’s them huh. We haven’t done anything, there are the videos, there’s everything. Everything is filmed. They came wearing hoods and beat people. Just tell your colleague, the young people you caught violently like that, they did nothing, they were attacked like that by the hooded Israelis, make it clear.”

For its part, the Paris police headquarters mentions, to CheckNews, “a few supporters” Who “provoked each other, leading to a brawl”. It indicates that two arrests took place, without specifying which supporters they were. On France 2, police chief Laurent Nuñez clarified that a “No one was arrested immediately and another after the match, once we were able to dissect what had happened on the video.” The two people arrested were placed in police custody. “An investigation is open,” specifies the prefecture, without giving the exact reason.

The Bobigny public prosecutor’s office, near CheckNewsindicates this Friday, November 15 that the two people arrested are supporters of the Israel team. The first, arrested for violence without ITT, will be referred to the delegate of the public prosecutor with a view to being banned from the stadium, “given the lack of intensity of the facts that can be held against the person concerned”. For the second, the investigation is closed without further action, because “the person concerned does not appear to be involved in the violence” after video exploitation.

“Pascal Praud”, “CNews” and “the police” thanked

Furthermore, other numerous comments indicate a “lynched woman” by supporters of Israel. Quds News Network, a press agency close to Hamas, notably published a tweet late in the evening of November 14, ensuring that “Israeli hooligans attacked a French fan in the Stade de France during the match in Paris.” For the moment, this assertion is not corroborated by images. Especially since Quds, to support his remarks, relies on the video showing the first exfiltration, which is therefore that of a man.

Alongside this violence, other images have also been talked about. Several Internet users criticize BFMTV for having conducted an interview with an Israel supporter wearing an Israeli army t-shirt, and who, moreover, allegedly “participated in the lynching of French supporters”. The one the journalist calls “Alexander” evokes a “magnificent match”a “beautiful, excellent atmosphere”. To the question: “Were you reassured by the important safety features?” The latter responds: “The device was magnificent. […] There was no problem, as soon as there was a small problem, we had a small problem in block K, it was immediately resolved, the police came and directly, they solved the problem.”

This person can also be found outside the stadium in front of the cameras, among other Israel supporters dancing for joy and giving thanks. “Pascal Praud”, “CNews” et “at the police station”. Inside the stadium, we don’t see him among the people throwing punches. On the other hand, we recognize him several times on the sidelines of the scuffles.

In particular, it is he who follows the first person exfiltrated, pushes through the crowd to get closer to them and insults him when the security agents take him away. Then, in the images showing the second man exfiltrated, he is present again, this time directly at the level of the police, speaking to him and standing very close to him, without us knowing if the person taken away is a supporter of France or Israel. Situated behind the police cordon, he then tries to push an individual who is pushed by the police.