PARIS (AP) – Paris police said Sunday that police will be present at the France-Israel soccer match to ensure safety in and around the stadium and on public transportation, a week after violence against Israeli fans in Amsterdam. It was announced that 4,000 government personnel and 1,600 stadium staff would be deployed.
France and Israel will play a UEFA Nations League match on Thursday.
“There are contexts and tensions that make this match a high-risk event for us,” Paris police chief Laurent Nuñez told French news broadcaster BFM television, adding that authorities “will not tolerate” any violence. .
Nuñez said 2,500 police officers would be deployed around the Stade de France stadium in the north of the French capital, in addition to 1,500 police officers in Paris and on public transport.
“An anti-terrorism security perimeter will be established around the stadium,” Nuñez said. Security checks will be “intensified”, including systematic pat-downs and baggage checks, he added.
Nuñez said French organizers were in contact with Israeli authorities and security forces to prepare for the match.
Dutch authorities say Israeli fans were assaulted after a soccer match in Amsterdam last week by a mob of young people who appeared to be enraged by calls to target Jews on social media. Five people were treated in hospital and dozens were arrested after the attack, which authorities in Amsterdam, Israel and across Europe condemned as anti-Semitic.
On Sunday, Dutch police detained several people who took part in an outlawed demonstration following violence targeting Israeli fans in central Amsterdam, local broadcasters reported.
French Interior Minister Bruno Letaillot confirmed on Friday that the France-Israel match will go ahead as scheduled.
“For symbolic reasons, I think we must not concede, we must not give up,” he said, adding that sports fans from all over the world will be attending this year's Paris Olympics to celebrate the “universal value” of sport. pointed out that they had gathered.
