Paris police arrest 148 after PSG loss in CL
Paris police arrested 148 people as Paris Saint-Germain football fans clashed with officers and smashed cars and store windows after the club lost the Champions League final in Lisbon.
Hundreds of fans were also fined for not wearing masks, a Paris police spokesman said yesterday.
City Hall urged fans to get tested for the virus, as France sees a resurgence in virus infections. Senior Paris City Hall health official Anne Souyris said yesterday on France-Info radio that PSG fans who gathered in groups “should go get a test” at one of the city’s mobile labs.
Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin wrote on Twitter that 16 police officers were injured in the Sunday night skirmishes. Police did not have estimates on injuries among the football fans.
PSG were hoping to join Marseille as the only French club to win Europe’s elite football competition, but lost to Bayern Munich 1-0. The defeat was met with huge celebrations in Marseille, where fans cheered and let off flares and fireworks.
Back in Paris, riot police burst into a bar close to the Champs-Élysées to aggressively remove people, because some were not wearing masks, or were failing to keep social distancing amid coronavirus concerns.
Riot police used tear gas to disperse fans gathered outside the club’s stadium. PSG beamed the match on two giant screens at Parc des Princes, with 5,000 fans allowed inside in keeping with the maximum allowed for soccer games in France as part of virus protection measures.