Tuesday night’s football at the Parc des Princes is on. Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez told reporters on Monday that the Champions League tie between Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona would be played as planned, insisting the weekend’s unrest would not force a postponement.
“But this does not apply to tomorrow’s match between PSG and FC Barcelona,” Nuñez said, as he confirmed other security steps across the country.
France woke on Sunday to burned cars, smashed shopfronts and looted businesses after Saturday’s cost-of-living and education protests spiralled into some of the worst street violence in years. The interior ministry put the toll at almost 2,400 arrests and nearly 1,000 police and gendarmes injured, with a protester dying of cardiorespiratory arrest during Saturday’s demonstration in the capital.
Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu, who said he was “absolutely determined to restore order”, asked regional prefects to impose “local” and “partial” curfews in some cities to protect businesses, after attacks on public buildings and shops.
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Luis Enrique steers clear of the politics
PSG manager Luis Enrique refused to be drawn on the unrest at his pre-match press conference, parking the political backdrop and pointing the players back towards the pitch.
“I’m not the right person to speak about this topic. I’m here to speak about football. For sure we don’t like this violence but that is how it is in society. So we just need to stay focused on the football match,” he told reporters.
Barcelona’s own build-up was disrupted, though not by the protests. Thick fog grounded their flight at El Prat airport on Monday morning, with the Catalan side’s plane finally lifting off at 11:50am local time after a delay of more than an hour. The squad touched down in the Paris area at around 2pm local time, leaving a reduced window to run through their final arrangements.
NFL game in Paris also on
The Champions League tie is not the only marquee fixture caught up in the security debate. The NFL’s first regular-season game in France, between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the New Orleans Saints at the Stade de France on Sunday 25 October, has also been confirmed to go ahead.
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“We continue to work closely with local authorities and partners on all operational and security matters,” the league said, adding there had been “no disruption or impact at league sites”.
The Saints added that they “concur with the NFL’s statement and are planning to play the game”. Wednesday’s Champions League fixture between Lille and Galatasaray, in a northern city also hit by weekend looting, is likewise scheduled to go ahead.
Kick-off at the Parc des Princes is at 9pm local time on Tuesday 20 October.
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