A high police presence is being prepared for the France v Israel Nations League match on Thursday at the Stade de France in Paris following attacks on visiting Israeli football fans last week in Amsterdam.
Paris police said Sunday that 4,000 officers and 1,600 stadium staff will be deployed for Thursday's match to ensure security in and around the stadium and on public transport.
The announcement comes a week after violence in Amsterdam between groups of individuals and Maccabi Tel-Aviv supporters, which drew international condemnation.
"It's going to be a high-risk match", said Paris police chief Laurent Nuñez, in "a very tense geopolitical context" in reference to the Israel-Gaza war and Israeli strikes on north Lebanon.
In addition to 2,500 police officers in and around the Stade de France stadium and 1,500 others on public transport in Paris, Nunez said some 1,600 security agents will also be mobilised at the stadium, and France's elite police unit (Raid) will provide security for the Israeli team.
“There will be an anti-terrorist security perimeter around the stadium,” he added. Security checks will be “reinforced,” including with systematic pat-downs and bag searches.
Some leftist MPs have called for the match to be relocated but Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau said: "France does not back down, this would be akin to surrendering to threats of violence and antisemitism."
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Macron to attend
Nuñez said French organisers have been in contact with Israeli authorities and security forces in order to prepare for the match.
President Emmanuel Macron's office has confirmed his presence to "send a message of fraternity and solidarity after the intolerable acts of antisemitism that followed the match in Amsterdam".
Israeli authorities have urged fans not to attend.
On Sunday, the French Football Federation (FFF) estimated "around 20,000" tickets had been sold for the match, a far cry from the 80,000 or so available.
Earlier this week, a pro-Palestine group gathered at the FFF headquarters in Paris to protest the France-Israel match.
Around 20 activists held banners that read "Criminal Israel, Accomplice FFF," "No to France-Israel Match at Stade de France," and "Stop Genocide, Silence Kills".
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Zionist antisemitism rally planned
Israeli football fans were assaulted last week in Amsterdam by groups of young people apparently riled up by calls on social media to target Jewish people, according to Dutch authorities.
Ten people were injured and dozens were arrested after the attacks, which were condemned as antisemitic by Israeli, Dutch and European leaders.
However, videos shared on social media also showed Maccabi fans setting fire to Palestinian and Dutch flags while chanting "Gaza is a cemetery", disrupting a minute's silence for victims of the floods in Spain, and roaming the streets with wooden planks after the match.
Tension around Thursday's match has mounted further after the Jewish youth movement Betar said it would rally in Paris against antisemitism.
Yigal Brand, CEO of World Betar, said in a statement Sunday that the movement, which is present worldwide and has links to the Israeli right, was "outraged at what has happened in Amsterdam".
"We are proud Zionists and have nothing to apologise for," Brand stated.
He called on group members and supporters to gather Wednesday in Paris and Thursday at the soccer game.
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Betar and the French Jewish student movement MEJF are to host Israel's far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich on Wednesday on the sidelines of the "Israel Is Forever" gala in Paris in support of Israel.
A number of associations, unions and French leftist parties have denounced the gala, and in particular Smotrich's planned appearance. Police chief Nunez confirmed on Sunday that the event would go ahead.
(with newswires)
