French police detained 780 people following violent clashes in Paris and other cities after Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) secured the Champions League title. Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez reported that 57 officers suffered mostly minor injuries as fans set off fires and vandalized properties. A group of individuals even attempted to storm a Paris police station. Nuñez assured that the situation is now largely under control.
Nuñez highlighted that most celebrations in the French capital were peaceful. However, significant incidents occurred around the Champs Elysees and Parc des Princes stadium in western Paris, where fans congregated to watch the match. Police made five interventions overnight to prevent traffic disruption on Paris’s main ring road.
Violence also spread to about 15 other cities, with reports of one to two shops vandalized outside of Paris. In total, police detained 780 individuals, 480 of them in the Paris area. The Paris prosecutors’ office stated that 277 people, including 82 minors, remain in police custody for charges such as assaulting officers, theft, vandalism, and public disorder.
A serious incident involved a driver losing control and crashing into a restaurant terrace, injuring two, one seriously. Despite the unrest, planned celebrations for PSG’s victory at the Champ de Mars, near the Eiffel Tower, will proceed. Nuñez warned of a firm police response to any further violence. Following the parade, PSG players will be received by French President Emmanuel Macron at the Elysee Palace.
Fans took to the streets of Paris to celebrate after PSG’s victory over Arsenal on penalties in Budapest, Hungary. Many gathered near the Arc de Triomphe, illuminating the night with flares and loud car horns. Approximately 20,000 fans assembled on the Champs-Elysees, prompting police to maintain order amid smaller disturbances involving vandalism, fires, and attacks on cars. Attempted aggressive actions, such as storming a police station in Paris’s 8th Arrondissement, were swiftly dispersed by law enforcement.
Last year, following PSG’s initial title win, 201 people sustained injuries in Paris, and police conducted over 500 arrests across France.
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