France deploys thousands of police for Israel match after Amsterdam violence

Emmanuel Macron has vowed that France will not “give in to antisemitism” on a tense night in Paris as the country’s men’s football team prepare to face Israel at the Stade de France.

The match has been designated “high risk” after the hooliganism and antisemitism in Amsterdam last week when the Israeli team Maccabi Tel Aviv played Ajax.

The French president and his interior minister, Bruno Retailleau, are due to be in the Stade de France along with the former presidents François Hollande and Nicolas Sarkozy, in a sign of solidarity with victims of antisemitism.

Speaking shortly before kick-off, Macron told the French TV channel BFMTV: “We will not give in to antisemitism anywhere and violence, including in the French Republic, will never prevail, nor will intimidation.”

The Uefa Nations League tie between France and Israel, which is due to start at 8.45pm local time (7.45pm UK), is not expected to attract a large crowd, with fewer than 20,000 tickets sold for the 80,000 capacity stadium. Only about 150 Israeli fans are expected.

Despite the low attendance, about 4,000 police officers are expected on the streets along with 1,600 security personnel.

Israel’s government has instructed its nationals to avoid the game amid heightened tensions. Concerns over the game were further raised after riot police clashed with pro-Palestinian protesters on Wednesday night outside a gala event in Paris where funds were being raised for the Israeli military.

Israel’s controversial far-right finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, had been due to speak but subsequently cancelled.

Police pushed against dozens of protesters waving Palestinian flags and lighting flares near Saint-Lazare station, with reports suggesting that teargas had been deployed as officers struggled to contain the crowds.

A pro-Palestinian demonstration has been organised in Saint-Denis at 6pm local time to protest against the staging of the match at a time of war in the Middle East.

The French police chief Laurent Nuñez said on Thursday that the match was “high risk” but that his officers would learn from the scenes in the Netherlands. “What we learned from Amsterdam is that we need to be present in the public space including far away from the stadium,” he said.

Ticket sales ended at 11am on Thursday and ticket holders were warned that they would not be allowed to bring any bags into the stadium. A wide security perimeter was enforced around the venue.

Only the French and Israeli national flags are being allowed in the ground.

The Israeli foreign minister, Gideon Saar, said he asked his French counterpart, Jean-Noël Barrot, to ensure the safety of those Israeli supporters who did attend. “The security of Israeli fans must be ensured,” Saar said.

France’s team coach, Didier Deschamps, said his players were aware of the tensions.

“Obviously none of us within the team can be insensitive to such a heavy context,” he said. “It impacts the amount of supporters present tomorrow and everything that goes with it.”

Amid international condemnation over the violence in Amsterdam last week, a report published by the city’s mayor, Femke Halsema, suggested the cause had been a “toxic cocktail of antisemitism, football hooliganism and anger over the war in Palestine and Israel and other parts of the Middle East”.

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