France-Israel match disrupted ? Drastic security measures and lingering fears

The French team will indeed face the Israeli team in a football match at the Stade de France this Thursday, November 14. The spectators will be few in number, unlike the police, but excesses and violence are still feared.

The match is maintained, but the tension is still palpable. The football match between France and Israel will indeed take place at the Stade de France, this Thursday, November 14, starting at 8:45 p.m. A decision taken by the Minister of the Interior, despite fears of possible anti-Semitic violence and requests for cancellations made by certain politicians, including elected officials from La France Insoumise. Tensions revived by the violence that occurred in Amsterdam last Thursday after a match between Maccabi Tel-Avi and Ajax.

The French and Israeli teams will therefore play their Nations League match in front of spectators present in the stands. But the match will be marked by an ultra-reinforced presence of law enforcement: there will be 4,000 police officers and gendarmes deployed around the Stade de France and in Paris. In detail, 2,500 people will secure the stadium grounds, aided by the presence of 1,600 stewards mobilized by the French Football Federation inside the infrastructure. The other 1,500 members of the police force will patrol public transport and certain areas of the capital frequented by supporters.

Only 20,000 supporters expected

The security measures and the number of personnel deployed are colossal, especially considering the number of supporters expected in the stands. The French Football Federation expects a maximum of 20,000 people at the Stade de France for the match between Les Bleus and the Israeli team, very few compared to the capacity of 80,000 seats. The record for the worst attendance would then be broken. And of these thousands of supporters, only 100 to 150 are expected to sit in the Israeli stands accessible to people who have purchased their ticket with the Israel Football Association. Some of them made the trip from the Hebrew state on purpose, ignoring the recommendations of the Israeli authorities who have called on nationals to &avoid the match. Other Israeli supporters residing in France should be present, but will not sit in these stands.

It is to protect these supporters from anti-Semitic violence, and more broadly to avoid any clashes on the sidelines of the match, that so many law enforcement officers have been mobilized. "It is necessary “We must at all costs avoid having the same scenes at home,” a security source told Parisien. “We will be watched all over the world. It's like the Olympics, or almost: we can't miss it.”

Security perimeter, identity checks, searches and frisking

Security measures Preventive measures will be taken before the match, including the closure of shops, including restaurants and bars, surrounding the stadium forecourt from 3:45 p.m., five hours before the match, in order to avoid gatherings as much as possible. Access to the Stade de France will also be secured, as indicated by the Paris police prefect, Laurent Nuñez on BFMTVSunday, November 10: “There will be a double check [and] a security perimeter around the anti-terrorist stadium”.

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To access the stadium, you will need to present your tickets, which are strictly nominative, as well as an identity document. A search and frisking will also be mandatory to enter the stadium. Several items have also been banned: backpacks, liquid containers such as bottles, flasks or cans, as well as Palestinian flags. Only French and Israeli flags will be allowed to support the teams present on the field.

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19:16 – A pro-Palestine rally planned in Saint-Denis before the match

While the France-Israel match is already announced as “high risk”, tensions could be increased by the holding of a pro-Palestine rally in Saint-Denis, the host city of the Stade de France which is hosting the match, this Thursday at 6 p.m., just 3 hours before the sporting event. For the time being, the rally is not banned, but discussions are underway between the organizers and the police headquarters. A relocation of the demonstration could be ordered for security reasons. in view of the proximity to the match venue.

The organizers of the demonstration also took up images of tifos supporting the Palestinian cause seen during previous matches, including the one seen in the PSG stands during the match against Atlético de Madrid in the Champions League. “We don't play with genocide,” wrote the organizers, who opposed the holding of the match between France and Israel.

18:30 – Empty stands for reasons safe and policies

Tickets for the France-Israel match are having trouble selling: out of the 80,000 seats at the Stade de France, only 20,000 will be occupied tomorrow night during the match according to estimates by the French Football Federation. There are several reasons for this lack of enthusiasm, starting with fears of excesses and violence on the sidelines of the match, anti-Semitic violence of course, but also wider clashes in response. To reassure the public and as a security measure, the security measures for the match, which were already has consequently been revised upwards with no less than 4,000 members of the security forces in addition to 1,600 stewards: that is to say 1 more member of staff supposed to maintain security for every 3 supporters. But nothing is working, fears persist and the Israeli authorities have advised Israelis not to go to the match.

But there is also a political reason with the boycott of the match by some supporters. A boycott organized to oppose Israeli policy and the attacks carried out by its army in the Gaza Strip and, for several months, in Lebanon. The strikes supposedly targeting Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon have caused enormous casualties among civilians and the UN has denounced certain actions as being able to be assimilated to war crimes. For these same reasons, tension has risen between Emmanuel Macron and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.