The night of violence registered in France after the triumph of Paris Saint Germain (PSG) against Arsenal in the Champions League final leaves, for now, a balance of 780 people arrested, of whom 457 have been detained, in addition to 57 agents injured, one deceased and another seriously injured. The French Prosecutor's Office keeps the investigations open to determine if these latter cases are directly related to the altercations.
The Minister of the Interior, Laurent Núñez, and the Paris Prosecutor's Office have made these data public in their latest provisional counts this morning, in a capital that is once again being secured for the team's arrival, scheduled for around 1:30 PM. In Paris, 277 people have been arrested, 195 adults and 82 minors.
As detailed by the minister, the deceased is a 24-year-old young man who lost his life in a motorcycle accident during the celebrations on a ring road in the capital. The seriously injured person is a 17-year-old minor, in a coma and in critical condition after being stabbed several times in the 16th arrondissement. His attackers fled the scene and are still being sought by the authorities.
Following the incidents, the City Council of the 8th arrondissement has requested that "gatherings" be avoided on the Champs-Élysées when fans come to receive the Parisian team, after a night marked by scenes of destruction after PSG's victory.
"Given that it is impossible to celebrate a match without disturbances occurring, the only sensible response is a new doctrine: 'zero gatherings'," the City Council has even demanded in a statement sent to residents.
Up to 20,000 people gathered on the Champs-Élysées during the night, while the Police implemented various measures to regulate the massive influx. Significant concentrations also occurred in the Barbès and Strasbourg-Saint-Denis neighborhoods, where moments of great tension were experienced.
According to Núñez, at least seven police officers were injured across the country, one of them seriously after suffering a fall in Agen (Lot-et-Garonne), a town located on the banks of the Garonne where particularly violent clashes were registered.
In the capital, a kiosk ended up being set on fire and several vehicles showed significant damage, while different groups of individuals attempted to approach a police station in the 8th arrondissement before being dispersed by security forces.
The authorities also reported a brief incursion onto the ring road near Porte Maillot, when dozens of people jumped onto the road and were soon after removed. In the vicinity of the Parc des Princes, around a thousand fans were contained by the Police after the removal of improvised barricades.
The Prefecture specified that, during security operations, 24 flares and nearly a hundred firecrackers and pyrotechnic mortars were seized. Furthermore, acts of vandalism against shops and urban furniture were documented in various parts of the city.
The disturbances extended beyond Paris. Authorities reported incidents in other towns such as Grenoble and Toulouse. In Grenoble, pyrotechnic devices were thrown and shop windows of several establishments were smashed. According to the Minister of the Interior, looting occurred in about fifteen cities in the country.
Given the forecast of disorder, the Ministry of the Interior had preemptively deployed 22,000 police officers and gendarmes throughout the territory, of which about 8,000 were concentrated in Paris and its metropolitan area. This Sunday, a deployment of 5,780 police officers and gendarmes will be repeated in the capital, to which 2,500 firefighters will be added.
"Our responsibility is to guarantee a peaceful and completely safe public celebration for everyone," the Police Prefecture had previously stated, reiterating its instructions of "responsiveness, commitment, and firmness."