2023-09-23 08:36:25
Pierre Barthélémy does not despair. The lawyer, who has made a specialty for several years of defending the rights of football supporters and tracking travel ban orders, of which he considers that “99% are unjustified”, is even rather optimistic when We ask him if we will one day see PSG supporters in Marseille, or OM in Paris. “I am hopeful that, within one or two years, there will be travel authorizations for a few hundred supporters,” he believes.
Sunday evening, that will not be the case for the first “Classic” of the season at the Parc des Princes (8:45 p.m.). The fault, in particular, “an already particularly dense week in terms of security”, details the Paris police headquarters. Between the Rugby World Cup and the visit of King Charles III, it was indeed “not the right calendar”, agrees Barthélémy.
13 of the last 16 Classics affected by a ministerial decree
In general, “all services consider that there is a significant risk of disturbing public order, this risk not reducing as the years pass,” continues the prefecture. The risk remains that Marseille supporters could be attacked on the route leading to the stadium, which would require an extremely costly commitment from the police. » Since February 2016, 13 of the 16 “Classics” which were played outside of Covid (without spectators, therefore), were even the subject of an order from the Ministry of the Interior prohibiting the movement of supporters, including the last 9 dated.
It must be said that the last authorization was not conclusive. February 2018, two Classics took place in the space of three days at the Parc des Princes, in Ligue 1, then in the Coupe de France. For the second, Marseille supporters were welcomed in Paris for the first time since 2014… and marked the occasion, by ransacking the stand (137 seats torn off) and the stadium toilets.
Before that, we have to go back to November 2014 to find traces of a trip by Marseille supporters to the Parc des Princes, in Ligue 1. Almost ten years. On the Parisian side, the last trip to the Orange Vélodrome dates back to April 2015, a time when the Parisian ultras, a consequence of the Leproux plan, had not yet found their way back to the stands. The latter have, therefore, not been present at the Vélodrome since November… 2009. Last February, during the last PSG-OM to date, the Collectif Ultras Paris had deployed a banner in the Auteuil stand which summarized the situation: “14 years without going to Marseille… Are we condemned for life? »
“14 years without going to Marseille… are we sentenced to life?”
More than ever…
FREEDOM FOR THE ULTRAS!!@Prefet13 at some point take your responsibilities!!!! pic.twitter.com/Tcp3cNBAkT— Collectif Ultras Paris (@Co_Ultras_Paris) February 4, 2023
“There are only Paris-Marseille and Saint-Étienne-Lyon where things are not returning to normal,” explains Barthélémy. Other matches between rivals affected by these bans ended up being replayed with supporters of all sides, despite strict supervision and a lowered gauge.
Start again small?
“On matches between Marseille and Paris, total bans are justified in view of the risks, but the supervisory orders seem necessary to me,” continues the lawyer. We must find solutions to allow supporters to come to these matches without deploying a system that makes no sense. We would like them to get involved in this match 6 months in advance and find solutions, even if it means starting small, with 200 supporters. These are cases where we will have to start again with small gauges to progress. »
This is one of the avenues mentioned in the discussions, in particular, between the National Association of Supporters (ANS) of which Pierre Barthélémy is a member and the Ministry of the Interior or the prefectures. The question, overall, of the freedom of movement of football supporters or the end of travel bans in the case of PSG-OM occupies minds. “We have had commitments from the Ministry of the Interior to work to once again allow supporters to travel to these matches,” assures the lawyer. The police headquarters of the two cities are open to dialogue. »
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