In addition, 200 people were injured, some seriously; more than 5,000 police officers were mobilized to contain the disturbances
Paris Saint–Germain’s unprecedented victory in the Champions League over Internazionale triggered a wave of violence in France on Saturday night (31/5). In Paris, especially on the Champs-Élysées, fans clashed with the police, resulting in two deaths, 559 arrests and around 200 injured, including security officers.
Among the fatal victims were a 17-year-old teenager, stabbed in Dax, and a 20-year-old man, run over in Paris. In the city of Grenoble, a driver ran over four members of the same family. Two of them are hospitalized in critical condition. There were 692 fires reported, 264 of which were vehicle fires, and several cases of looting of designer stores. The government mobilized 5,400 officers in the capital to contain the chaos.
In the small town of Coutances, in northwestern France, a criminal shot a police officer in the eye, leaving him in an induced coma. According to Gauthier Poupeau, the town’s prosecutor, authorities have opened an investigation for “intentional violence against a public security officer.”
Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau condemned the violence, attributing it to groups who took advantage of the celebration to cause chaos. Despite the incidents, PSG is maintaining its schedule of celebrations, including a visit to the Élysée Palace, the seat of the French government, and a parade through the streets of Paris this Sunday (June 1).
