Two people died and hundreds were arrested in France overnight as football fans celebrated Paris Saint-Germain’s stunning UEFA Champions League final victory, the ministry of the interior says.
The epicentre of the euphoria was in Paris, which was a theatre of car horns, cheers, singing in the streets and fireworks throughout the night following PSG’s 5-0 triumph over Inter Milan in Munich.
The interior ministry on Sunday said 491 people were arrested in the capital after crowds converged on the Champs-Elysees avenue and clashes broke out with officers.
Across France, a total of 559 people were arrested, it added.
The authorities reported two deaths amid celebrations. A man riding a scooter in Paris died after being hit by a car in the city’s southern 15th arrondissement, located about 2km from the Champs-Elysees.
In the southwestern town of Dax, a 17-year-old was fatally stabbed at a gathering feting the PSG victory, prosecutors say. His death occurred shortly after the match and “during the celebrations”, but the prosecutor’s office say it did not know whether it was related to the Champions League final. It added that the perpetrator was “on the run”.
The PSG team were to hold a victory parade on the Champs-Elysees on Sunday, with tens of thousands of supporters expected to gather to catch a glimpse of their returning heroes.
Overnight, though, AFP journalists saw police on the famed thoroughfare using water cannons to stop a crowd reaching the Arc de Triomphe that sits at the top of the Champs-Elysees.
“Troublemakers on the Champs-Elysees were looking to create incidents and repeatedly came into contact with police by throwing large fireworks and other objects,” the police say in a statement.
Elsewhere, police say a car careered into fans celebrating PSG’s win in Grenoble in southeastern France, leaving four people injured, two of them seriously. All of those hurt were from the same family, the police say.
The driver handed himself in to the police and was placed under arrest. A source close to the investigation says it was believed the driver had not acted intentionally.
The public prosecutor’s office say the driver had tested negative for alcohol and drugs.
The majority of fans celebrated peacefully, but police in Paris say scuffles broke out near the Champs-Elysees avenue, and around PSG’s Parc des Princes stadium, where 48 000 people had watched the 5-0 win on giant screens.
Most of those arrested in the capital were suspected of illegally possessing fireworks and causing disorder, the police say.
The PSG victory meant the club won the biggest prize in European club football for the first time in their history.
PSG supporter Clement (20) says: “It’s so good and so deserved! We have a song that talks about our struggles, and it hasn’t always been easy.
“But we got our faith back this year with a team without stars. They’re 11 guys who play for each other.”
French president Emmanuel Macron’s office said he would host the victorious players on Sunday to congratulate them.
In a message on X, Macron hailed a “day of glory for PSG”.
A total of 11.5 million people tuned in across France to watch the match, according to figures given by the Mediametrie audience-measurement company and one of the broadcasters, Canal+.
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