France has beefed up security plans for the upcoming football match between the national side and Israel in the wake of the violence suffered by Tel Aviv fans in Amsterdam last week.
Police in the country, which is home to both the largest Jewish and Muslim populations in Europe, are set to deploy 2,500 officers to the Stade de France on the northern edge of Paris, with a further 1,500 dispersed across the capital.
This is twice the usual deployment of up to 2,000 officers for “high-risk” matches and will be further bolstered by some 1,600 private security guards at the national stadium.
“There’s a context, tensions that make that match a high-risk event for us,” Paris police chief Laurent Nuñez said on French news broadcaster BFM TV, adding that authorities “won’t tolerate” violence.
“There will be an anti-terrorist security perimeter around the stadium.”
Nuñez said security checks will be “reinforced,” with systematic pat-downs, bag searches, and other measures.
Nuñez said that French organizers have been in contact with Israeli authorities and security forces to prepare for the match.
French President Emmanuel Macron announced his attendance at the Nations League clash between Les Bleus and the Jewish state to “send a message of fraternity and solidarity after the intolerable antisemitic acts” following a match between Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv in the Dutch capital last week.
Despite the bolstered security, a small crowd is expected at the fixture, with only 20,000 tickets sold for the 80,000-capacity Stade de France, which recently played host to the track and field events at this summer’s Paris Olympics.
French supporters’ group Les Irreductibles Français conducted a survey among members, finding that 15 percent would boycott the match over the war in Gaza.
Another 30 percent said “security risks” had put them off, while 34 percent cited practical reasons for their lack of attendance.
“I can understand why people don’t want to come. It’s their choice. We’ll keep going, we’ll fight on the pitch,” 26-year-old French defender Dayot Upamecano told reporters on Nov. 12.
“We will stay focused on the upcoming match. Sorry I didn’t see what happened in Amsterdam.”
The decision not to hold the match behind closed doors was made by Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau and approved by Prime Minister Michel Barnier.
On Nov. 10, Israel urged its citizens to avoid attending cultural and sporting events abroad involving the nation’s teams over the coming week.
The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed it has intelligence that pro-Palestinian groups overseas intended to harm Israelis in cities in the Netherlands, the UK, France, Belgium, and elsewhere.
Dutch police said they took away more than 300 pro-Palestinian protesters who ignored a ban on demonstrations in Amsterdam on Nov. 10 and detained 50 more following clashes involving Maccabi Tel Aviv fans last week.
Maccabi supporters were attacked by hordes of young people whipped up by social media calls to target Jewish people, according to Amsterdam authorities.
Five people were treated at hospitals in the aftermath of the assaults, which were condemned as anti-Semitic by governments in the Netherlands, Israel, and across the continent of Europe.
Before the game, large crowds of supporters of the Israeli team could be seen on video chanting anti-Arab slogans as they headed to the stadium, escorted by police.
France is second in Nations League Group A2 on nine points from four games, one behind Italy and five ahead of Belgium, with Israel bottom on zero points.
Belgium, which, like France, has a sizable Muslim population, declined to host its team’s clash with Israel in September, instead playing that game behind closed doors in Budapest, Hungary.
Israel’s national team has played all of its home matches in the Nations League this season in the Bozsik Arena in the Hungarian capital.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has long described his nation as Europe’s safest for Jews and has banned pro-Palestinian solidarity protests, branding them as a security threat.
Maccabi Tel Aviv—the only Israeli team to qualify for European club competitions this season—has been playing its home games in Szombathely, Hungary, and Belgrade, Serbia.
