By French authorities will deploy 4,000 police officers and 1,600 stadium staff for Thursday’s UEFA Nations League match between France and Israel, implementing extraordinary security measures following recent attacks on Israeli fans in Amsterdam.
Paris Police Chief Laurent Nuñez announced Sunday that 2,500 officers will surround the Stade de France, with an additional 1,500 patrolling the capital and public transportation. “There’s a context, tensions that make that match a high-risk event for us,” Nuñez told BFM TV. “We won’t tolerate any violence.”
French President Emmanuel Macron plans to attend the match, his office confirmed, aiming to send “a message of fraternity and solidarity following the intolerable antisemitic acts that followed the match in Amsterdam,” according to an Elysee Palace official speaking on customary condition of anonymity.
The enhanced security follows incidents in Amsterdam where Israeli fans were attacked after a game, resulting in five hospitalizations and dozens of arrests. Israel’s National Security Council warned citizens Sunday to avoid sports and cultural events abroad, specifically citing the Paris match, citing risks of violence “under the pretense of demonstrations.”
“I think that for a symbolic reason we must not yield, we must not give up,” Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau said Friday, confirming the match would proceed as planned. He referenced this year’s Paris Olympics as an example of sports bringing people together to celebrate “universal values.”
Security measures will include an anti-terrorist perimeter around the stadium with reinforced checks, systematic pat-downs, and bag searches. French organizers have coordinated with Israeli authorities to prepare for the event.
The Amsterdam violence, condemned across Europe as antisemitic, occurred despite police escort of Israeli supporters, some of whom were filmed chanting anti-Arab slogans en route to the stadium. Dutch authorities blamed social media calls targeting Jewish people for inciting the subsequent attacks.
