AP —
French police have detained 780 people involved in violent clashes in Paris and other French cities on Saturday night after Paris Saint-Germain won the Champions League.
Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said 57 police officers were injured, most with minor injuries, as soccer fans set fires and vandalized stores. One small group even attempted to attack a Paris police station.
“The situation is almost under control,” Nunez said at a news conference Sunday.
“Most of the celebrations were peaceful” across the French capital, he said, noting that most incidents occurred around the Champs-Elysées in western Paris and near the Parc des Princes stadium, where fans had gathered to watch the match.
He said police intervened five times during the night to prevent people from blocking traffic on the main ring roads around Paris.
Nuñez said the attacks occurred in about 15 French cities, with “one or two” stores destroyed in each city except Paris. He said a total of 780 people were detained, 480 of them in the Paris region alone.
The Paris public prosecutor’s office announced that 277 people, including 82 minors, were officially detained by police on suspicion of crimes. Most of the charges relate to assaulting police officers, while other charges include theft, vandalism and disrupting public order.
In one serious accident, the driver lost control of a car that crashed into a restaurant terrace, injuring two people, including one seriously, Nunez said.
But Nuñez said the team’s victory celebration, scheduled for Sunday afternoon on the Champ de Mars near the Eiffel Tower, would go ahead as planned. He warned that police would respond with “firmness” to any potential violence.
The PSG team will then be welcomed by French President Emmanuel Macron at the Elysée Presidential Palace.
After the final whistle blew in Budapest, Hungary on Saturday night, fans began celebrating in Paris. In a dramatic final, Paris Saint-Germain defeated Arsenal on penalties.
Fans marched down a boulevard near the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, some lighting smoke bombs and honking their car horns. About 20,000 people gathered on the Champs-Elysées, and police worked to contain the crowd.
The Paris police department said small groups caused disturbances in various places, with some vandalizing shops and setting fire to trash and self-service bicycles on the streets. A car was also set on fire. Police said the people who tried to storm the police station in the upscale 8th Arrondissement area were dispersed.
Last May, after PSG’s first victory, 201 people were injured in the French capital, Paris, and police arrested more than 500 people across France.
