File photo: French soldiers stand guard near the police headquarters in Paris. AFP
France and Israel are playing in a UEFA Nations League match on Thursday.
“There's a context, tensions that make that match a high-risk event for us,” Paris police chief Laurent Nuñez said on French news broadcaster BFM TV, adding authorities “won't tolerate” any violence.
Nuñez said that 2,500 police officers would be deployed around the Stade de France stadium, north of the French capital, in addition to 1,500 others in Paris and on public transportation.
“There will be an anti-terrorist security perimeter around the stadium,” Nuñez said. Security checks will be “reinforced,” he added, including with systematic pat-downs and bag searches.
Nuñez said that French organizers have been in contact with Israeli authorities and security forces in order to prepare for the match.
Israeli and Pro-Palestinian fans have clashes in Amsterdam. Five people were treated at hospitals and dozens were arrested after the attacks.
On Sunday, Dutch police detained several people for taking part in a demonstration in central Amsterdam that had been outlawed following the violence targeting Israeli fans, a local broadcaster reported.
French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau confirmed Friday that the France-Israel match would go ahead as planned.
“I think that for a symbolic reason we must not yield, we must not give up,” he said, noting that sports fans from around the world came together for the Paris Olympics this year to celebrate the “universal values” of sports.
* This story was edited by Ahram Online
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