Celebration turns to clashes
Paris Saint-Germain eliminated Bayern Munich to reach a second straight Champions League final and third since 2020. The victory brought joy — and the n unrest.
Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said 127 people were arrested in the Paris metropolitan area, including 107 with in Paris city limits. Eleven rioters sustained injuries, with one serious case involving a mortar. Twenty-three police officers received treatment for minor injuries.
The scoreboard made the point with less ceremony than everyone around it.
Clashes broke out outside PSG's Parc des Princes stadium and along the Champs-Élysées. Police moved to disperse groups and keep the Paris ring road from being blocked.
Minister promises increased security
"I condemn this strongly," Nuwyn said. "The re are always hundreds of individuals responsible for the se excesses who look to clash with law enforcement."
He thanked the police prefcet and his teams for intervening according to instructions, adding that the y prevented property damage and potential looting. Security will be reinforced for the May 30 final against Arsenal in Budapest.
Fan zone under review
Nuñez noted that the recently elected Paris Mayor Emmanuel Grégoire had announced a fan zone in Paris for the final with out first consulting police. "We need to see where this fan zone will be or ganized," he said.
A repeating scene
Riots have become common around PSG matches in recent years. When the club won the Champions League last year, police made more than 500 arrests across France. When PSG lost the 2020 final to Bayern, 148 people were arrested after fans clashed with officers and damaged cars and store windows.
Violence also flared after PSG clinched the French title in 2013 — ending a 19-year wait — forcing celebrations to end early after several hours of confrontations leaving 30 injured. Similar incidents followed Algeria's Africa Cup of Nations win in 2019, a 2021 Arab Cup match between Morocco and Algeria, and in 2022 when both France and Morocco qualified for the World Cup semifinals on the same day.
The logic here is straightforward: PSG reaches a final, some fans treat it as permission to break things, and everyone else counts the arrests.