Trump used the South Lawn as his pulpit. Before boarding Marine One on Friday, 23 October, he told reporters that he was worried about the match the NFL had scheduled for the Stade de France the following Sunday.
“It’s looking like tomorrow is going to be a bad day in France, so you worry about it. I would’ve said the NFL could’ve probably postponed that match… France is really in trouble,” the president said.
He added that the unrest in France was “what happens when you go left” and “what happens when you allow unlimited numbers of people into your country from very unfriendly countries.”
The NFL did not blink. The league insisted its Steelers-Saints fixture would be safe to play, and made clear that the separate postponement of a Paris Saint-Germain football match the same weekend had not fed into its own thinking. Secretary of State Marco Rubio broke with the president on the question of risk, telling OutKick that the US embassy in France believed the game “will be fine”.
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A city under pressure
On Saturday, 24 October, more than 400,000 people took to the streets across France in protests over school funding and the cost of living. Police deployed tear gas and water cannons after demonstrators threw objects, and nearly 1,000 people were arrested. An administrative court overturned a protest ban in Paris after masked groups clashed with officers, looted shops and set cars alight.
The Steelers cancelled a fan event in the city as a precaution, and NFL facilities around Paris were closed on the Saturday. Reporters on the ground described a largely normal city with some shops boarded up.
Pittsburgh 16, New Orleans 10
Kick-off came at 2:30pm local time on Sunday at the Stade de France in front of a reported 78,488. Pittsburgh took a 3-0 lead on a 28-yard Chris Boswell field goal and never trailed. Aaron Rodgers threw a four-yard touchdown pass to tight end Darnell Washington in the second quarter to make it 10-3.
Tyler Shough drew the Saints level at 10-10 with a touchdown pass to Devaughn Vele, before an interception killed New Orleans’ best chance to go in front. Boswell added two more field goals, one to close the first half and another in the third quarter, to seal the win. Rodgers finished 19 of 30 for 212 yards. Shough went 30 of 38 for 278 yards with one touchdown and the costly pick. Running back Jaylen Warren carried the Steelers on the ground with 101 rushing yards and another 36 through the air.
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Pittsburgh moved to 5-2; New Orleans slipped to 2-5 and into their bye week.
No delays at the Stade de France
The day Trump had warned about never arrived at the stadium. There were no delays, no breaches, no reports of trouble inside the Stade de France. The NFL had staked its first regular-season game on French soil on its own security judgement rather than the White House’s.
Pittsburgh’s next assignment is at home against the Cleveland Browns on Sunday, 1 November, at 1pm local time.
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