Fans scuffle despite heavy security presence at France-Israel soccer match

Analysis by Joseph Ataman, CNN

Paris (CNN) — A brief scuffle broke out in the stands as Israeli soccer fans returned to Europe, but a heavy security presence in Paris ensured there was no repeat of the large-scale violence seen in Amsterdam last week.

Thousands of extra security personnel were deployed in the French capital and a “double ring” of security thrown around the stadium for the Nations League game between France and Israel, a week after shocking violent attacks marred Israeli club Maccabi-Tel Aviv’s visit to Amsterdam amid accusations of organized “hunting” of Jews and aggression from some traveling Israeli fans.

In Paris on Thursday, the atmosphere was tense at the at Stade de France – and French authorities were taking no chances.

It only took about a minute for security personnel to step in when a scuffle broke out early in the game between a small number of supporters in a stand behind one of the goals, the Associated Press reported. Some of those involved were draped in Israeli flags, but it was not clear what caused the altercation, AP said.

The match finished 0-0 with no further incidents.

Some 4,000 officers and 1,600 stadium staff were deployed to police the game, with about 2,500 of those officers around the stadium itself, Paris police chief Laurent Nunez said.

Last year’s French soccer cup final saw some 3,000 police and 1,400 staff deployed, CNN affiliate BFMTV reported.

The elite RAID police unit was present inside the grounds, according to France’s interior minister. An “anti-terrorist security perimeter” was set up around the stadium to ensure two separate ID checks and searches for attendees.

The game came just days after several nights of clashes in Amsterdam. At least five people were treated in hospital and dozens were arrested after Israeli fans were hunted down and attacked following Maccabi Tel Aviv’s 5-0 defeat to Ajax in violence condemned as antisemitic by authorities in the Netherlands and Israel.

Tensions were running high ahead of the match in Amsterdam. Multiple social media videos showed Maccabi fans chanting anti-Arab slurs, praising Israeli military attacks in Gaza and yelling “f**k the Arabs.”

Maccabi supporters also tore down flags, vandalized a taxi and set a Palestinian flag on fire, Amsterdam police said.

The supporters of the Israeli national side who traveled to Paris were likely to differ from the fans at Amsterdam’s Maccabi match – some of whom have a reputation for hooliganism and violence.

French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau said he was expecting 12,000-13,000 fans total for the match, one of the lowest turnouts ever at the 80,000-capacity Stade de France, the centerpiece of Paris’ 2024 Olympic Games.

On Sunday, Israel specifically warned its citizens against attending the match over fears for their safety. Even so, officials were determined for the game to go ahead.

Retailleau refused to cancel or move the match, telling parliamentarians that doing so would amount to “giving in to sowers of hate.”

Instead, the country’s flagship stadium was turned into a veritable fortress.

But the match wasn’t notable for its security.

French President Emmanuel Macron attended the game, an unusual move for a relatively minor fixture on the global soccer stage. The Elysee Palace told CNN affiliate BFMTV that his presence would, “send a message of fraternity and solidarity after the intolerable antisemitic acts that followed the match in Amsterdam.”

Macron was joined by his prime minister and two of his predecessors, former presidents Francois Hollande and Nicolas Sarkozy – a rare display of unity.

An iron-fisted response

This game came at a particularly tense time for politics and sport in France.

Last week, Retailleau demanded answers from French champions Paris Saint-Germain after fans unfurled an enormous “Free Palestine” display in the stands at a Champions League tie against Atletico Madrid.

Following the match, Retailleau posted on X that clubs should be wary that, “politics does not come to damage sport, which must always remain a force for unity,” promising in a later radio interview that “nothing was off the table” in terms of sanctions against clubs that refuse to toe the line and police “political” banners.

The minister set an aggressive tone in his first months in office and his response to the Amsterdam attacks was no different. Retailleau called for prosecutors to investigate a far-left lawmaker’s post about the violence in the Dutch capital – a move that is unprecedented even amid the heightened tensions following the Hamas-led October 7 assault on Israel last year and the ongoing war in Gaza that followed.

Marie Mesmeur had posted that the Israelis attacked in Amsterdam, “were not lynched because they were Jewish, but because they were racist and supported genocide.”

The official French response could not be more different.

Macron said the incidents, “recalled the most shameful hours of history,” in sentiments mirrored by top French officials in a flurry of X posts.

France – like much of Europe and North America – has grappled with spiking antisemitism in recent years, which has only been accentuated by the October 7 attacks and Israel’s bloody campaigns in Gaza and Lebanon.

In France specifically, less than 1% of the French population is Jewish, yet Jews are victims of 57% of all racist and antireligious attacks in the country, Retailleau told lawmakers on Tuesday.

France is home to Europe’s largest Jewish population and one of the continent’s biggest Muslim populations. In recent years, French far-right politicians have clamored to claim the moral high ground around antisemitism.

All this comes amid a diplomatic spat between Paris and Tel Aviv. Just this week, the Israeli ambassador in Paris was summoned to the French foreign ministry after two French policemen were briefly detained in Israeli-occupied East Jerusalem.

France’s government has attempted to tread a difficult path between responding to Hamas’ attacks on Israel and growing antisemitism at home, and outrage at Israel’s destruction in Gaza and elsewhere. Yet, in the light of recent events in Amsterdam, it is keen to show its commitment to protecting French Jews: Thursday’s match offered the perfect opportunity.

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