Hundreds arrested as clashes erupt in Paris on PSG victory night

PARIS – Police have detained more than 280 people in Paris, after violent clashes erupted when thousands poured onto the streets after Paris Saint-Germain’s Champions League final victory on May 30.

Some 22,000 police were deployed across France for the game, including 8,000 in Paris, after unrest marred PSG’s win in the competition in 2025. Paris tramlines were halted, several metro stations shut and bus traffic halted to minimise disturbances.

According to the French Interior Ministry, 416 people were detained nationwide, including 283 who were apprehended in Paris. It was not immediately clear how many of these individuals were remanded in custody to face further investigation.

Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said seven officers had been wounded and called the unrest “absolutely unacceptable”. Six vehicles and two businesses were also damaged.

A group of supporters stormed the Paris ring road, bringing traffic to a halt for a time and letting off flares, an AFP photographer said.

As fans celebrated the dramatic penalty shoot-out victory in the Hungarian capital of Budapest, some 20,000 people converged on Paris’ iconic Champs-Elysees, police said.

Shops boarded up their windows ahead of the match to avoid a repeat of disturbances in 2025, when youths ransacked shops on the Champs-Elysees and other streets.

Two dozen flares and about 100 fireworks were seized, while a bus shelter was destroyed.

The match also came on a hectic evening in Paris, with singer Aya Nakamura performing at the Stade de France stadium, rapper Damso at the La Defense Arena and tennis’ French Open in full swing.

Police also said a bakery and a restaurant were damaged near PSG’s Parc des Princes stadium, where tens of thousands gathered inside to watch the match but 4,000 to 5,000 people loitered outside with projectiles which were thrown at officers.

About 150 people “attempted to enter through one of the gates” at the stadium but police pushed them back, a spokesperson said. Some also attempted to erect a barricade with rental bikes which was cleared by police.

An AFP reporter at the scene said clashes broke out between police and supporters near the stadium and officers responded with tear gas when fireworks were thrown at them.

The scenes angered the French far right, with three-time presidential candidate Marine Le Pen writing on X that “only in France does a football club’s victory spark riots”. “Only in France does everyone feel compelled to lock themselves in their homes on the evening of a victory to avoid being confronted with violence,” she added.

But Nunez insisted there was a “very robust, very solid system in place” to curb violence.

“Our responsibility is to guarantee everyone a festive celebration that is calm and fully secure,” a police spokesperson said. AFP