Ahead of the Club World Cup final between Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea on Sunday in the United States, the police are mobilizing 11,500 officers in the Greater Paris area to prevent possible riots.
According to police chief Laurent Nuñez, the officers are being deployed in view of the match and the Bastille Day holiday on Monday, when riots have regularly occurred in the past.
Advertisement
He told broadcasters BFMTV that around 2,000 fireworks have already been confiscated during 300 police operations in the run-up to the match, and around a dozen people have been arrested.
In Paris, police have banned the setting up of a fan zone and large live broadcasts of the final.
Gatherings of people on the Champs-Élysées avenue have also been banned, and Place de l’Étoile and Place de la Concorde will be completely closed to cars and pedestrians on the evening of the match.
This is also due to the preparations already made for the military parade on Monday morning for Bastille Day.
The robust police presence and the extensive, strict restrictions are mainly due to the riots and excesses following PSG’s Champions League triumph in June.
There were 563 arrests nationwide, 491 of them in Paris, where properties were damaged and shops were looted.
