Israel holds France to draw in Nations League match under tight security

RFI

15 November 2024 at 4:09 am·1-min read

France's defender Jules Kounde goes for a header during the UEFA Nations League League A, Group A2 football match between France and Israel at the Stade de France on 14 November, 2024.

Israel and France played out a goalless draw in a Nations League football match in Paris on Thursday surrounded by a huge security operation.

Around 4,000 police and members of the security forces patrolled inside and outside the Stade de France to prevent a repetition of the attacks on fans of Israeli club Maccabi Tel Aviv in Amsterdam last week.

A further 1,600 civilian security personnel were also on duty.

Stewards had to intervene at one point to stop fans of both nations from clashing in the stands, an AFP reporter saw.

Videos taken by spectators and posted on the X social media platform showed fans, some with Israeli flags, running along the rows of seats at the stadium while other supporters whistled and booed.

Members of the stadium security team moved between the two groups to separate them and the incident was over within minutes.

The tension surrounding the fixture caused many fans to stay away with just 16,611 in a stadium that holds up to 80,000.

Around 100 Israeli fans attended the match despite calls from Israeli authorities to avoid the fixture. Around 600 members of the Jewish community in France travelled to the stadium in buses with a police escort.

Paris ramps up security for 'high-risk' France-Israel football clash

Huge security operation

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Huge security operation

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