The iconic Champs Elysees avenue in central Paris has been cleared by the riot police in less than an hour amid clashes with fans.
Paris has seen some intense clashes between the police and football fans on Sunday night as the French national team suffered a defeat to Argentina at the World Cup in Qatar. Police officers in riot gear were deployed to disperse the crowds still occupying the iconic Champs Elysees avenue in central Paris after the final match.
“In such a situation, only those who have come to fight … remain,” a police source told Le Parisien. Photos and videos published on social media showed large groups of police officers wearing riot gear chasing the fans down the Champs Elysees while kicking them and bashing them with the shields.
Fans are seen fighting back and throwing fireworks at the officers on some of the videos. Most videos only show the crowd running away from the law enforcement officers, though. One of the videos also showed a man lying on the ground and surrounded by police officers. According to Le Parisien, the police charged a small crowd of fans that were throwing bottles and fireworks and managed to quickly disperse them.
La BRAV dans ses œuvres. Visiblement, personne n’a le droit de rester sur les #ChampsElysées, tout le monde doit quitter les lieux et en courant, sous peine de prendre un coup de bouclier. #WorldCupFinal #ArgentinaVsFrance #FRAARG #WorldCup #Paris #ARGFRA #FIFAWorldCupFinal pic.twitter.com/t7bSJDEJQI
— Thibault Penet (@_Thibault_penet) December 18, 2022
Les forces de l’ordre chargent de tous les côtés sur l’avenue des Champs-Elysées devenue piétonne exceptionnellement. #ArgentinaVsFrance #coupedumonde2022 pic.twitter.com/G1iITSNazA
— AB7 Média (@Ab7Media) December 18, 2022
An hour after the end of the match, the police arrested some ten people over the possession of fireworks, Le Parisien reported. There were no reports about injuries or property damage, although some people on social media spoke of “riots” in Paris in the wake of the final game.
🆘 🇫🇷 🚨En Direct des Champs Elysées à Paris, après la défait des bleus la police a brutalement dispersé les fans et touristes qui les rejoignaient @BFMTV pic.twitter.com/OT12hkP25z
— ⭐Dream team connection ⭐ (@SasaTrump) December 18, 2022
Il faudra nous expliquer ces charges @prefpolice #ARGFRA #ArgentinaFrancia #FIFAWorldCupFinal #ChampsElysees pic.twitter.com/5Wre4enfMZ
— AB7 Média (@Ab7Media) December 18, 2022
The police deployed over 2,700 officers to Paris alone ahead of the game in anticipation of potential unrest, according to the French media. The French capital as well as the nation’s other cities have seen outbreaks of violence following France’s World Cup semifinal victory over Morocco last week.
A boy died in the southern French city of Montpellier after being “violently hit” by a car as rival football fans clashed at that time.
