Furious opposition politicians in France on Monday blasted Emmanuel Macron’s government for blaming Liverpool football fans for causing chaos at the European Cup Final.
It follows the country’s Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin pointing at “thousands of British supporters” for being behind the trouble during the showpiece final against Real Madrid, at the Stade de France in Paris, on Saturday.
Opposition senator Michel Salvin said there should be a “parliamentary inquiry to find the real troublemakers into the disaster in the Champions League final”.
Mr Salvin, of the Republicans party, said it was outrageous “to get angry with our English neighbours by unfairly pointing the finger at Liverpool supporters”.
“Four Hundred million viewers witnessed a humiliation for our country,” said Mr Salvin, who claimed “local youth gangs” were at the centre of the trouble.
Other opposition politicians pointed to the frightening images of police gassing innocent people, including men, women and children from Liverpool.
Stéphane Troussel, president of the local authority of Seine-Saint-Denis – the department where the Stade de France is located – also expressed his anger.
“I have never seen such disorganisation around the Stade de France,” he said.
“This is not the first time that there have been major events in the Stade de France.
“The Stade has existed in Saint-Denis for 24 years and this is the third Champions League final to be held there (after 2000 and 2006) and I have never seen such a level disorganisation.
“I am very angry, I do not want Saine Saint-Denis and its inhabitants to be the scapegoats for this disorganisation. I demand a rapid, transparent, in-depth investigation into these dysfunctions, this disorganisation.”
Despite videos of Liverpool fans being attacked by the police, Interior Minister Mr Darmanin held them to blame for disorder that led to 68 arrests on Saturday night.
In a damning Tweet, Mr Darmanin said he watched much of the trouble unfold in the “Stade de France security hub”, as Liverpool lost 1-0.
“Thousands of British ‘supporters’ without tickets or with counterfeit tickets forced entry and sometimes assaulted the stewards,” said Mr Darmanin, whose job is equivalent to Home Secretary in Britain.
Mr Darmanin said he was supported in his view by Sports Minister Amelie Oudea-Castera, who was due to meet European football chiefs on Monday.
President Macron’s government has been fiercely critical of the UK since Brexit.
The President, who regularly attacks Britain over a range of issues, was not at the football match, and has so far left his most senior ministers to talk about it.
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp meanwhile joined his club in calling for a full public inquiry, saying their fans had been the victims.
A club statement reads: “We are hugely disappointed at the stadium entry issues and breakdown of the security perimeter that Liverpool fans faced this evening at Stade de France.
“This is the greatest match in European football and supporters should not have to experience the scenes we have witnessed tonight. We have officially requested a formal investigation into the causes of these unacceptable issues.”
