Two dead, 500 arrested as chaos erupts during French Champions League celebrations
French police have arrested more than 500 people after chaos erupted during Champions League final celebrations across the country, leaving two people dead and 192 others injured.
Widespread unrest broke out on Saturday night as football fans lit flares and fireworks while celebrating Paris Saint-Germain’s historic Champions League victory over Inter Milan in Munich.
The Interior Ministry reported hundreds of fires, including more than 200 vehicles set ablaze. A total of 22 members of the security forces and seven firefighters were also injured.
According to the report, 491 people were arrested in Paris—the epicenter of the unrest—after crowds gathered on the Champs-Élysées and clashed with police.
Nationwide, a total of 559 people were taken into custody.
“Troublemakers on the Champs-Élysées were looking to create incidents and repeatedly engaged with police by throwing large fireworks and other projectiles,” police said in a statement.
In Coutances, northwest France, a police officer was accidentally struck by fireworks and placed in an artificial coma due to severe eye injuries, according to the national police service.
Elsewhere, a 17-year-old boy was fatally stabbed in the city of Dax, while in Paris, a man died when his scooter was hit by a car amid the street celebrations.
In a post on social media, Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau blamed the violence on “barbarians,” saying they had taken to the streets of Paris “to commit crimes and provoke law enforcement.”
“It is unbearable that people cannot celebrate without fearing the savagery of a minority of thugs who respect nothing,” he added.
Security had been tightened in anticipation of post-match violence, with 5,400 officers deployed across the Champs-Élysées, other key locations in Paris, and nearby suburbs. A water cannon was also stationed near the Arc de Triomphe to secure the Place de l’Étoile.
The Paris Saint-Germain team is expected to return from Munich on Sunday to continue celebrating with tens of thousands of fans.
French President Emmanuel Macron’s office said he would host the victorious players to congratulate them. In a message on X, Macron hailed a “day of glory for PSG.”
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