Violent clashes as fans celebrate Paris Saint-Germain’s Champions League win

Home Affairs Minister Laurent Nuñez said 57 officers were injured, most with minor injuries, as football fans set fires and vandalized shops on Saturday evening (Sunday morning AEST). A small group even tried to storm a police station in Paris.

Nuñez said at a press conference on Sunday that “the situation has largely been brought under control.”

“Most of the festivities took place peacefully” in the French capital, he said, noting that most incidents took place in the Champs Elysees district and close to the Parc des Princes stadium in western Paris, where fans had gathered to watch the match.

Police also intervened five times overnight to prevent people from blocking traffic on the main ring road around Paris, he said.

Nuñez said incidents took place in about 15 cities in France, describing “one to two” shops vandalized in each other than in Paris. He said a total of 780 people were detained, including 480 in the Paris region alone.

The Paris prosecutor’s office said 277 people had been formally placed in police custody, including 82 minors, for alleged crimes. Most were for assaulting police officers, while other charges included theft, vandalism and disturbing the peace.

In one serious crash, a driver lost control of a car that crashed into a restaurant patio, injuring two people, including one seriously, Nuñez said.

But Nuñez said the planned celebrations for the team’s victory on Sunday afternoon on the Champ de Mars, near the Eiffel Tower, would go ahead as planned. He warned that police would respond to possible violence with “determination and determination.”

The PSG team will then be received by French President Emmanuel Macron at the Elysee presidential palace.

Fans began celebrating in Paris after the final whistle in Budapest, Hungary, where Paris Saint-Germain won by beating Arsenal on penalties in a dramatic final.

Fans marched along the boulevards near the Arc de Triomphe monument in Paris, some setting off flares and blaring car horns. About 20,000 people gathered on the Champs-Elysees, where police worked to control the crowd.

The Paris police prefecture said smaller groups caused disturbances in several locations, with some destroying shops, setting fire to rubbish and renting bicycles on the streets.

Cars were also set on fire. Those who tried to storm a police station in the upscale eighth arrondissement were dispersed, police said.