Emmanuel Macron and PSG denounce scenes of violence in Paris following Champions League win | OneFootball

Whilst there were scenes of joy in Budapest as Paris Saint-Germain beat Arsenal to retain their UEFA Champions League title, that joy was spliced with violence in the streets of Paris. 

780 people were arrested on Saturday night, according to France’s interior minister. There were 219 injuries, whilst there was one death, with a young male involved in an accident on his motorcycle.

The scenes in Paris, following PSG’s triumph, were denounced by Macron as “unspeakable” and “unacceptable”. The French president continued, “PSG have won two stars. We have seen unacceptable scenes of violence […] that isn’t football, that isn’t sport, that isn’t what we love. We will be intransigent with those who have been caught. We don’t want to see that any more, end of. We’re fed up,” he said during celebrations on Sunday. 

His call for calm was echoed by PSG’s president, Nasser Al-Khelaifi. “Please, celebrate calmly today. We have to protect our city.” 

PSG also denounced the scenes witnessed in the French capital in the hours that followed the club’s triumph in Hungary (1-1, 4-3 on penalties). “Because we love Paris deeply, we were also saddened by the violence and the damage that hit our city. These acts do not reflect the values of football nor the spirit of this celebration,” said the club in a press release on Sunday evening. 

GFFN | Luke Entwistle