Paris Saint-Germain’s Champions League victory led to unrest across France, with 780 arrests and one death reported by authorities. The death involved a 24-year-old man who died after his motorcycle crashed into a concrete wall, according to Paris prosecutors.
French authorities said 457 people were taken into police custody, a 32% increase from last year. They also deployed 22,000 police officers across Paris as celebrations on 31 May turned violent.
Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez described the night as “extremely difficult”, saying projectiles and pyrotechnics were thrown at law enforcement. Several officers were injured during the disturbances.
Images from Paris showed burning cars, fireworks aimed at police, and looting of shops, particularly in the Champs-Élysées, Trocadéro, and areas near the PSG stadium. Far-right leader Marine Le Pen criticised the disorder on social media, saying: “Only in France does a football club's victory cause riots. Only in France does everyone feel obliged to lock themselves in their homes on the night of a victory to avoid facing violence.”
The mayor of Paris’s 8th district, Jeanne d’Hauteserre, also raised concerns after the local police station was attacked. She said, “We no longer manage the overflows, we suffer them,” and called for a new policing doctrine of “zero concentrations” on the Champs-Élysées.
Nuñez said closing the Champs-Élysées would require half of the capital’s police force for that single area, which he said was not feasible. PSG players were scheduled to parade through the streets of Paris on 1 June, followed by a reception with President Emmanuel Macron at the Élysée Palace. Authorities said they would respond with “the same firmness and determination as last night” to any further disturbances.
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