Coupe de France: Nantes-Toulouse, at least 21 arrests on the sidelines of the final

2023-04-29 23:10:17

The Stade de France adorned itself on Saturday evening with yellow and purple, colors of Nantes and Toulouse, opposed in the final of the Coupe de France under the eyes of Emmanuel Macron, in a tense social context and under security vigilance, but without overflows majors. However, 21 arrests were made on the sidelines of the Coupe de France final this Saturday evening. According to a police source, 21 people were arrested because of smoke bombs or pickpocketing, while “Paris hooligans wanted to attack individuals”.

The match started at 9:00 p.m. in a full Stade de France and in a great atmosphere, with in particular an impressive Toulouse tifo “Let’s bring it back to the Place du Capitole”, fireworks, and smoke bombs on the Nantes side.

VIDEO. Whistles, red cards … the Stade de France is preparing to heckle Emmanuel Macron

Few whistles against pension reform in the 49th minute

Shortly before kick-off, Emmanuel Macron greeted the Nantes and Toulouse players in the corridor leading to the field, at the exit of the locker room. The Marseillaise also sounded in the stadium, without whistles. Throughout the start of the evening, the supporters, sometimes under police escort, entered the Ile-de-France enclosure in a calm atmosphere, with yellow or purple smoke.

Emmanuel Macron was whistled in the 49th minute of play, as the unions had requested, as a sign of opposition to pension reform. But the whistles were not in the majority in the stadium with regard to the sporting progress of the meeting.

Some supporters met several representatives of local unions who had come to distribute red cards and other whistles to them – banned in the stadium – so that they could demonstrate their opposition to the pension reform or their rejection of the President of the Republic, expected in the evening. as tradition dictates.

At the start of the evening, the security personnel confiscated certain red cards and whistles brought by the supporters at the time of the entry control. The union rally was authorized at the last minute by administrative justice: the administrative court of Paris, seized in summary proceedings, found wrong on Saturday the prefect of police of Paris who wanted to ban it.