Security boosted for France-Israel match
A fan of the Israeli football club Maccabi Tel-Aviv is met by family members at the Ben Gurion International Airport on the outskirts of Tel Aviv on 8 November, 2024, upon returning from Amsterdam. Flight carrying Israelis evacuated from Amsterdam after violent clashes following a football match there landed on November 8 at Ben Gurion International Airport, the Israel Airports Authority said. The United Nations said that it was deeply troubled by the clashes in Amsterdam surrounding the football match between hosts Ajax and Israeli side Maccabi Tel-Aviv, violence branded "anti-Semitic" by Israeli and Dutch leaders.
Jack GUEZ / AFP
A high police presence is being prepared for the France vs. Israel Nations League match at the Stade de France in Paris on Thursday.
Paris police chief Laurent Nunez described the event as high risk and revealed 4,000 gendarmes would be around the stadium, on public transport and in Paris.
The match follows on the heels of an Ajax vs. Maccabi Tel Aviv game which descended into violence on the streets of Amsterdam in midweek with Tel Aviv fans being tracked, chased and beaten.
"An elite unit of national police will also protect the Israel team," Nunez said. "The geopolitical context is extremely delicate."
Nunez said the police would adopt an attitude of zero tolerance of disorder before and after the event.