HUNDREDS of people have been arrested following a night of chaos across France as Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) fans celebrated the club’s historic Champions League victory.
The French Interior Ministry confirmed that 559 people were arrested nationwide, including 491 in Paris, after PSG’s 5-0 triumph over Inter Milan, according to a report by France 24.
At least 300 people detained were suspected of possessing fireworks and causing disorder, Paris police said.
The violent scenes left two people dead and at least 192 others injured, including 22 police officers and seven firefighters.
The report noted that in the south-west town of Dax, a 17-year-old boy was stabbed to death, while a 23-year-old man riding a scooter was fatally struck by a vehicle in Paris.
The ICIR reported that PSG won their maiden UEFA Champions League title in emphatic fashion in the final held at Munich’s Allianz Arena on Saturday, May 31.
This victory also sets a record for the largest winning margin in a Champions League final dating back to 1956.
This means that the club, under manager Luis Enrique, completed a remarkable treble, having already secured the Ligue 1 and Coupe de France titles this season.
However, the celebrations spiralled out of control in Paris, with flares and fireworks lighting up the night sky, bus shelters smashed, and cars set ablaze.
The Paris prosecutor’s office told the BBC that two officers were injured by projectiles at Place des Ternes, while several shops were looted in the same area.
The BBC also noted that 30 people were arrested near a Foot Locker store on the Champs-Élysées that was robbed.
Despite the violence, many fans celebrated peacefully, singing, dancing, and waving PSG flags as the Eiffel Tower glowed in the club’s blue and red colours.
In anticipation of the celebrations, approximately 5,400 police were said to have been deployed across Paris.
“Troublemakers on the Champs-Elysees were looking to create incidents and repeatedly came into contact with police by throwing large fireworks and other objects,” police said in a statement.
Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau condemned the violence. He wrote on social media: “True PSG supporters are enjoying their team’s magnificent match. “Meanwhile, barbarians have taken to the streets of Paris to commit crimes and provoke the police.
“It’s unbearable that it’s unthinkable to party without fearing the savagery of a minority of thugs who respect nothing.”
Elsewhere in France, in Grenoble, a car ploughed into PSG fans, injuring four members of the same family, two of them seriously.
The driver later turned himself in and was arrested.
Mustapha Usman is an investigative journalist with the International Centre for Investigative Reporting. You can easily reach him via: musman@icirnigeria.com. He tweets @UsmanMustapha_M