Thursday, 14 November 2024 09:57

France ramps up security ahead of Israel soccer match after Amsterdam violence Featured

Thousands of police officers are set to be deployed around Paris on Thursday ahead of a soccer game between France and Israel, seeking to avoid a repeat of last week’s violence in Amsterdam involving locals and Israeli fans.

The international match is expected to be met by widespread protests a week after the unrest in the Netherlands and amid heightened tensions in Europe over Israel’s deadly assault on the Gaza Strip and Lebanon.

Paris police confirmed to NBC News around 4,000 officers would be on duty, with some 2,500 deployed to ensure security around the Stade de France, in the suburb of Saint-Denis just north of the capital, and some 1,500 posted elsewhere across the city.

“It’s an exceptional measure, three to four times greater than what we usually mobilize,” Paris police chief Laurent Nunez told RTL radio on Wednesday, according to the Reuters news agency.

He said that only French and Israeli flags would be allowed inside the stadium, effectively barring the presence of Palestinian flags at the match, which French President Emmanuel Macron was expected to attend.

Police said in a post on X that they had also received authorization to use drones to survey crowds both Thursday and Friday, though they did not say exactly where these would be deployed. Meanwhile, the National Gendarmerie was expected to deploy dozens of patrol teams assigned to metro lines.

But attendance at the Nations League game is expected to be low, with French media reporting that only about a quarter of the 80,000-capacity stadium will be filled. Israel has warned its citizens against attending sporting events abroad.

The ramped-up security presence comes after the violence surrounding the soccer match between Israel’s Maccabi Tel Aviv and Ajax of Amsterdam put authorities across Europe on high alert.

It also comes after multiple demonstrations were held in the French capital on Wednesday night