Up to 20,000 supporters of the Atlas Lions and the Blues took communion on the Parisian avenue on Saturday evening. The end of the evening was marked by a hundred arrests in the capital, 70 more throughout the country.
They communicated on the most emblematic Parisian avenue. Thousands of supporters of France and Morocco celebrated – together – Saturday evening on the Champs-Elysées in Paris, the qualification of their respective teams for the semi-finals of the World Cup-2022, where they will face each other on Wednesday. As after the qualification in quarters against Spain, the fans of the Lions of the Atlas invested the Champs. The first arrived at 6 p.m., when the Moroccan selection had erased Portugal (1-0) from its route. They were joined by supporters of the France team immediately after the victory of the Blues against England (2-1). French or Moroccan flags on their backs, football fans found themselves on the two-kilometre avenue, under the horns of cars and the cheers of the crowd.
According to the Paris police headquarters (PP), around 20,000 people were present in the evening on the Champs-Elysées. Smoke bombs and fireworks were also present. Without causing problems for most of the evening, before the end of the party turned a little sour. “At the end of the evening, around 10:30 p.m., hostile groups sought confrontation with the police who systematically dispersed them”, said the police headquarters. Around midnight, a hundred arrests had taken place, mainly for the firing of fireworks and the throwing of projectiles. Shop windows were also damaged. More than 80 people, including 23 minors, were taken into custody in the capital, detailed the prosecution.
On both sides of the avenue and at the intersections of the streets, the police had been deployed in large numbers, equipped with helmets and riot shields. The PP had announced that “1,220 police and gendarmes” in civilian clothes and in uniform would be mobilized from 4 p.m. It is not yet known what device is planned for Wednesday evening, but there is no doubt that there should be at least as many police officers on the Champs-Elysées. To manage a still potentially hectic end of the evening.
Updated at 3 p.m.: 170 arrests on the territory, including a hundred in Paris.