It will be the most “difficult” game of the year, according to police sources in the French network BFMTV. One week after the wild ones episodes in amsterdam aimed at Maccabi Tel Aviv fans who watched their team’s away game against Ajax, Israel are invited to face France in Paris for the Nations League, the most important football competition of the year at national team level. Kick-off is scheduled for Thursday night at 8.45pm local time.

Around 4,000 police officers will be on foot to ensure the smooth running of the match. Of these, 1,600 will have taken a seat inside the vast Stade de France. Security measures are particularly high, as French President Emmanuel Macron will also be on the official platform, wanting to send his own “message of solidarity and brotherhood” according to French media. Publications are also talking about a possible visit of Prime Minister Michel Barnier and former President Nicolas Sarkozy to the Stade de France.

“France is not backing down”

Already last Friday, just a few hours after the incidents in Amsterdam with dozens of injuries, the conservative Minister of the Interior of France, Bruno Retagio, in his message on the X platform, had rejected any thought of postponing the match for security reasons. “I don’t accept something like that, France is not backing down,” said Retagio. “It would be like capitulating to threats and anti-Semitism.”

Under normal circumstances the security measures involving thousands of police on and off the pitch would have been considered rather excessive for a football match, as no more than 20,000 spectators are expected at the Stade de France. But the authorities do not want to risk it after his deviations Amsterdam. As police commander Laurent Núñez states to BFMTV, “we have the means to prevent any disturbance of public order, inside the stadium, outside it, as well as during the arrival and departure of spectators.”

Controversial ‘travel directive’

At the same time, as revealed by the Israeli newspaper “Haaretz”, Israel’s National Security Council calls on the country’s citizens to be “careful” abroad, but also to avoid “sports and cultural events in which Israeli athletes or artists participate” . The directive clearly also concerns the organization of the Nations League. However, many sports fans refuse to take warnings of potential incidents seriously.

According to the Israel Hayom newspaper, at least 300 fans and pro-Israel activists will come to the stadium on Thursday to watch the match against France. “We will show that we are not afraid and we are not giving in to the extremists,” activist Melanie Powley Geiss told the newspaper. For his part, the Israeli MP Yossi Tayeb, who comes from France, states in the “Ma’ariv” newspaper: “I’m not saying that we shouldn’t follow the directives of the National Security Council, but it’s crazy to hide Israeli national symbols in the year 2024 and avoid football matches. I don’t understand why we have to hide.”

However, at the Paris Olympics, France proved that it can ensure the protection of Israeli athletes. Due to the extraordinary situation in the Middle East, the guarding of the Israeli mission had been undertaken by special security forces of the French police. Something similar will happen on Thursday night, for the smooth running of the match at the Stade de France.

Edited by: Yiannis Papadimitriou