PARIS — Celebrations marking Paris Saint-Germain’s historic Champions League title spiraled into tragedy across France, with two fans dead, a police officer in a coma, and hundreds injured during overnight unrest, authorities said Sunday.
What began as a jubilant night following PSG’s 5-0 victory over Inter Milan — securing the club’s first-ever Champions League crown — quickly descended into violence in several cities, despite a largely festive start under the illuminated Eiffel Tower.
A 17-year-old boy was stabbed to death during street celebrations in Dax, a city in southwestern France, the national police confirmed. Meanwhile, a man in his 20s died in Paris when his scooter was struck by a car amid the fanfare. Both incidents are under investigation, according to the Interior Ministry.
In Coutances, in northwestern France, a police officer suffered severe eye injuries after being accidentally hit by fireworks during a local PSG gathering. He was placed in an artificial coma, according to police. In Paris alone, 192 injuries were reported, four of them serious, said Paris police chief Laurent Nunez.
On Sunday, PSG’s title-winning squad is expected to parade down the Champs-Elysees, with up to 110,000 fans allowed along the iconic boulevard. The event will be followed by a concert and official trophy presentation at the Parc des Princes, PSG’s home stadium in western Paris.
A large section of central Paris has been shut to traffic, and security is on high alert, impacting major events such as the nearby French Open. Thousands of officers have been deployed to maintain order, using tactics similar to Saturday’s crowd control operations.
Despite celebratory scenes at places like the Place de la Bastille, where fans climbed the historic column and danced through the night, tensions flared elsewhere.
Tear gas was deployed near Parc des Princes, and water cannons were used around the Arc de Triomphe to break up unruly crowds. Police reported 294 arrests by 2 a.m. Sunday, including 30 individuals who looted a shoe store on the Champs-Elysees. Two cars were torched, and four stores were looted, officials added.
The fire department was overwhelmed, with its emergency hotline saturated due to numerous garbage fires and other incidents during the chaos.
Nunez placed blame for the violence on “thousands of people who came to commit acts of violence” rather than celebrate PSG’s triumph. He noted the parallels with past unrest, such as the aftermath of France’s 2018 World Cup win, when similar scenes of vandalism followed national celebrations.
While many fans gathered peacefully to revel in PSG’s long-awaited European title, the events of the night underscored the volatile mix of sports euphoria and public disorder that French authorities have struggled to contain in major celebratory moments.
