Paris Riots Erupt After PSG Champions League Victory, Hundreds Arrested

According to the International Desk of Webangah News Agency, French police reported that hundreds of individuals were detained after Paris Saint-Germain fans lost control during the club’s championship celebrations following their victory against Arsenal in the Champions League final. This tense and thrilling final saw PSG defeat Arsenal 4-3 on penalties in Budapest.

The French Ministry of the Interior announced that at least 326 people were arrested nationwide, with 235 of those detentions occurring in Paris. The French newspaper Le Figaro reported the latest figure of arrests to be 416.

The unrest began when Arsenal took the lead during the penalty shootout. Approximately 20,000 people gathered on the famous Champs-Élysées, with some fans setting off fireworks and igniting pyrotechnics. A bakery and a restaurant near the Parc des Princes stadium, the home ground of PSG, also sustained damage.

More than 1,000 people had congregated around the stadium, where protesters erected barricades and fortifications using their bicycles. The Paris ring road, the Périphérique, was also briefly blocked by the crowd before police intervened. To prevent a recurrence of the deadly riots from the previous year, 22,000 police officers were deployed in the capital.

French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin described the incidents as “completely unacceptable” and confirmed that seven police officers were injured. Far-right politician and former presidential candidate Marine Le Pen commented, “Only in France does the victory of a football club turn into a riot.” She added that people are forced to stay in their homes on victory nights to avoid violence. Last year, following PSG’s championship win, over 500 people were arrested and two individuals lost their lives.