The police will not close the Champs-Élysées avenue in the first phase but will patrol the area with strong forces
Police in France are preparing for tonight’s World Cup semi-final against Morocco following incidents following Morocco’s victory over Portugal last week.
Around 10,000 members of the police will be mobilized across the country, of which 5,000 will be deployed in the Ile-de-France region around Paris and almost 2,200 in the capital, double the number of security personnel compared to previous major matches of the tournament, he said today in France 2 network Interior Minister Gérald Darmanen.
“Our Moroccan friends, like the French fans, are allowed to organize a party and our job is not to stop them from having a party…but it should be done under good security conditions,” the minister added.
Conflicts erupted in Paris on December 10 after Morocco’s victory over Portugal as victory celebrations with flag-waving fans and honking horns soon turned violent in the streets with window-smashing, prompting special police forces to use tear gas.
Morocco is a former French colony and the latter is home to a large Moroccan diaspora, concentrated mainly around Paris and the Mediterranean coastal region.
Although there is no data on ethnicities in France, estimates put the number of Franco-Moroccans and Moroccans residing in the country at around one million.
As Darmanen said, the Champs-Élysées in Paris will not be closed tonighty–a 70-meter-wide boulevard that is often the focus for spontaneous celebrations after sporting events as well as demonstrations.
It is possible, as he noted, that it will close on Sunday afternoon after the World Cup final.
Paris prefecture police said security forces would focus on the Champs-Élysées to prevent incidents of vandalism and aggression.
To also avoid congestion in the city centre, many exits of the Paris arrondissement will be closed from 22:00 local time and access to some metro stations will be restricted.
From 18:00 local time, two hours before the start of the match, approx 500 checkpoints they will be placed in Paris and other areas and fans will be screened for fireworks and smoke detectors.
Darmanen said much would depend on the weather, with the country facing unusually low temperatures reaching below zero and much of northern France expected to see snow.
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