PSG Champions League Triumph: Paris Celebrates Amid Unrest

The French capital laid out a red, white and blue carpet Sunday for Paris Saint-Germain players to mark their second straight Champions League title, amid bitter recriminations after hundreds of people were arrested and dozens of police hurt in a night of unrest.

Tens of thousands of flag-waving fans took to the streets again to see the team parade from Paris Charles de Gaulle airport to the Champ-de-Mars plaza in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower.

The team flew back from Budapest, where they beat English Premier League champions Arsenal on Saturday night 4-3 in a penalty shoot-out.

They were also received by President Emmanuel Macron before returning to their Parc des Princes stadium for a final encounter with more than 40,000 fans, bringing to a close a day of festivities.

The previous night of celebrations was blighted, however, by clashes between youths and police in Paris and other cities, cars set on fire and shops looted.

One man died riding his motorbike around the Paris ring road in celebration, while authorities reported stabbings and other attacks. They said 57 police and 219 “participants” were injured. Eight of the injured were in critical condition.

Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said there were 780 arrests across France, nearly a third more than when PSG’s triumph last year over Inter Milan also set off a night of disturbances. He said looting had taken place in around 15 cities across the country.

Municipal workers hurried Sunday morning to clear the Paris streets of broken glass, wrecked bus shelters, trash cans and burned-out cars and bikes before PSG’s return.

French President Emmanuel Macron called the violence “unspeakable”.

He said PSG were an “immense pride” for France but said the country was “fed up” with the violence. “We will be ruthless with those who have been caught,” he vowed.

Amid political recriminations over the troubles, Paris mayor Emmanuel Gregoire played down the severity, saying such incidents were nothing new.

“In the vast majority of cases, people celebrated with family and friends. And it was an extraordinary celebration,” the mayor told BFM TV. “And incidents on the fringes of major events have been going on for centuries.”

Gregoire blamed the “media coverage” of the unrest, and perhaps also the obsession of these troublemakers who come to cause trouble and show themselves on social media”.

The town hall for the Paris district that includes the Champs-Élysées, where tens of thousands went after the football victory, called for a ban on such gatherings.

On Saturday night, the “Champs-Élysées Avenue and its surroundings ceased to be a place of celebration and became an arena of urban guerrilla warfare”, the town hall said in a statement.

Politicians from all sides lambasted the troubles and questioned the way it was handled.

Far-right figurehead Marine Le Pen wrote on X that “only in France does a football club’s victory spark riots”.

Valerie Pecresse, the head of the Greater Paris Council from the Republicans party, slammed “the brainless thugs who allow themselves to destroy everything, tarnishing the image of Paris and France!”.

A spokesperson for the hard-left France Unbowed said: “We cannot be satisfied with the way last night’s event was managed and organised by the government.”

– Riding high –

Nunez promised “strongarm” security for Sunday’s celebrations, and some 6,000 police were on duty across central Paris.

“We’re still riding yesterday’s high, so we want to keep the party going,” said 25-year-old Abou, a PSG fan, “since he was little”.

“Paris, Paris” chanted supporters wearing the team colours and carrying flags, as they filtered through security checkpoints to get near a stage where the players appeared. The “We Are the Champions” pop song blared out on speakers.

PSG captain Marquinhos and striker Ousmane Dembele were among the most applauded as they lifted the trophy before the adoring crowds. “We will be back next year for the third,” said Dembele.

But PSG’s Qatari president, Nasser Al-Khelaifi, appealed to the crowd: “Please celebrate calmly today. We must protect our city.”

The streets were so packed that the team arrived more than an hour late at the Champs-de-Mars, where they paraded on a red, white and blue tricolour carpet to the stage.

“It was great, there was the stress of the penalty shootout, but it was good stress in the end,” said Mirna Makima, a 39-year-old physiotherapist who travelled from Belgium for the celebrations.

AFP