Paris Celebrates PSG's Champions League Win

The French capital rolled out a red, white, and blue carpet on Sunday for the Paris Saint-Germain players. This was to celebrate their second consecutive Champions League title. But the day came with some troubles, as hundreds were arrested and many police officers were injured during a night of chaos.

Tens of thousands of fans waved flags and filled the streets to watch the team parade from Paris Charles de Gaulle airport to Champ-de-Mars plaza, right under the Eiffel Tower.

The team returned from Budapest, where they had just beaten Arsenal, the English Premier League champions, 4-3 in a penalty shootout on Saturday night.

President Emmanuel Macron met the team before they went back to their Parc des Princes stadium. There, they had one last encounter with over 40,000 fans, ending a day full of celebrations.

But the previous night was marred by clashes between youths and police in Paris and other cities. There were reports of cars being set on fire and shops being looted.

One man died while riding his motorbike around the Paris ring road during the celebrations. Authorities reported stabbings and other attacks. They said 57 police officers and 219 people were injured, with eight in critical condition.

Interior Minister Laurent Nunez stated there were 780 arrests across France. This is nearly a third more than the arrests made during PSG’s victory last year over Inter Milan, which also caused disturbances. Nunez added that looting happened in about 15 cities across the country.

On Sunday morning, municipal workers rushed to clean the streets of Paris. They picked up broken glass, wrecked bus shelters, trash cans, and burned-out cars and bikes before PSG’s return.

President Macron described the violence as “unspeakable.” He said PSG brought “immense pride” to France but added that the country was “fed up” with the violence. “We will be ruthless with those who have been caught,” he promised.

In the middle of political blame for the chaos, Paris mayor Emmanuel Gregoire downplayed the situation. He said such incidents are not new. “In the vast majority of cases, people celebrated with family and friends. And it was an extraordinary celebration,” he told BFM TV. “Incidents on the fringes of major events have been going on for centuries.”

Gregoire blamed the “media coverage” for the unrest and mentioned the troublemakers who come to cause problems and show off on social media.

The town hall for the Paris district that includes the Champs-Élysées, where many fans gathered after the victory, called for a ban on such gatherings.

On Saturday night, the town hall said, “Champs-Élysées Avenue and its surroundings ceased to be a place of celebration and became an arena of urban guerrilla warfare.”

Politicians from various parties criticized the troubles and questioned the response. Far-right figure Marine Le Pen posted on X, saying, “Only in France does a football club’s victory spark riots.”

Valerie Pecresse, head of the Greater Paris Council from the Republicans party, condemned “the brainless thugs who allow themselves to destroy everything, tarnishing the image of Paris and France!”

A spokesperson for the hard-left France Unbowed said, “We cannot be satisfied with the way last night’s event was managed and organised by the government.”

Nunez promised strong security for Sunday’s celebrations, with about 6,000 police officers on duty across central Paris.

“Today, we want to keep the party going,” said 25-year-old Abou, a PSG fan. “We’re still riding yesterday’s high.”

“Paris, Paris,” chanted supporters in team colors as they passed through security to get to the stage. The song “We Are the Champions” played loudly.

PSG captain Marquinhos and striker Ousmane Dembele were among the stars lifted the trophy to cheers from the crowd. “We will be back next year for the third,” Dembele promised.

But PSG’s Qatari president, Nasser Al-Khelaifi, appealed to the crowd: “Please celebrate calmly today. We must protect our city.”

The streets were so crowded that the team arrived over an hour late at the Champs-de-Mars. They paraded on a red, white, and blue tricolor carpet to the stage.

“It was great. There was stress during the penalty shootout, but it was good stress in the end,” said Mirna Makima, a 39-year-old physiotherapist who came from Belgium for the celebrations.