Champions league, NFL games to go ahead despite France’s violent unrest

THE Champions League showpiece between Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona will go ahead as planned today in Paris, the French interior minister confirmed.

Many have been left shocked by images of violence that have drawn worldwide attention and highlighted the country’s tense social climate. On Monday, French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu said he instructed prefects to impose “very limited” and “localized” curfews in cities to prevent more rioting and looting.

The violence targeted city halls, other public buildings and hundreds of businesses across the country, leading to more than 2,000 arrests.

Today’s match between PSG and Barcelona at the Parc des Princes will require a robust security deployment, with police forces strained following weeks of protests.

In May, Paris police detained dozens of people after violence disrupted celebrations of PSG’s second Champions League title and a group tried to storm a police station.

Speaking after an emergency meeting with government officials, Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said the possibility of calling off planned events was discussed, including soccer matches.

“But this does not apply to tomorrow’s match between PSG and FC Barcelona,” he said.

Nuñez added that other matches planned in European competitions this week would not be affected. He mentioned the match between Lille and Galatasaray scheduled on Wednesday in the northern city, where looters also vandalized shops over the weekend.

Asked whether the tensions in France could affect his team, PSG manager Luis Enrique said it would not.

“I’m not the right person to speak about this topic,” he added. “I’m here to speak about football. For sure we don’t like this violence but that is how it is in society. So we just need to stay focused on the football match.”

Nuñez offered his resignation on Sunday but French President Emmanuel Macron asked him to stay to respond to police needs in an emergency situation. Macron instructed Nuñez “to take all necessary steps to ensure full transparency about the failures in planning and intelligence-gathering that led to the violence.”

Nuñez acknowledged authorities “lost control” in some major cities on Saturday, when hundreds of businesses were looted.

Saints avoiding hotspots

Nuñez did not mention the NFL game in Paris between the Pittsburgh Steelers and New Orleans Saints. The teams are set to play Sunday at Stade de France in what would be the NFL’s first regular-season game in Paris, where events are also planned for football fans during the week.

The Saints arrived at Charles de Gaulle airport Monday morning and in a virtual news conference addressed questions about rioting that is in the headlines and flooding social media.

Tight end Juwan Johnson said some of his family members are “very undecided” about whether to attend.

The NFL said Sunday “preparations continue as scheduled for NFL events and the game” at Stade de France.

“Just being safe is obviously the biggest thing,” Johnson said. “Some guys have family here. Some guys have their parents, their kids and things like that.”

Johnson said his family “may be making the trip. If they do I’m sure it’ll be great. If they don’t, obviously I completely understand. We’re very undecided right now.”

PSG has invited Saints players to tonight’s game. Safety Justin Reid said beyond that, he’ll mostly stay closer to Versailles, site of the team’s accommodations.

“Keep it low-key, keep it fun, do things as a group, do things as a team and above all else stay out of the mix and don’t find any way to be a distraction to our ultimate goal here, which is to come in and put on a performance and get a win,” he said.

The NFL’s statement added: “There’s been no disruption or impact at league sites.”

The Steelers plan to arrive in Paris later this week.

Marseille, Lille close shops

The weekend of riots and looting in France did not spare soccer clubs Marseille and Lille.

The Ligue 1 teams said their shops have been vandalized during protests against rising living costs and poor conditions in schools. Small groups of people set fires in the streets and looted businesses in Paris, Lyon, Marseille and other cities.

Marseille said in a statement on Monday the looters caused “significant damage” to its official store located on La Canebière — the southern port city’s most famous avenue — which has been temporarily closed.

The Marseille prosecutor’s office said 101 people, including 27 underage individuals, were arrested following the looting.

Lille’s city centre store “suffered extensive damage and widespread looting,” the club said, adding that the shop will remain closed until further notice.

— The Associated Press