France on Tuesday said the upcoming UEFA Nations League soccer match with Israel's national team set for Thursday is classified under an “increased security risk” and will be overseen by 4,000 security forces operatives and 1,600 security guards at the Stade De France. The number of fans in the stands will be limited to 20,00 instead of the 80,000 fans the stadium can hold at full capacity.
French President Emmanuel Macron will attend the game "to show his full support for the French national team, but also to send a message of fraternity and solidarity after the unbearable antisemitic attacks following the soccer match in Amsterdam this week.” Meanwhile, Israel's National Security Council (NSC) advised Israelis against attending the game.
"The vile attack (in Amsterdam) is a complete disgrace, taking us back to the darkest periods in history. Antisemitism is a cancer we must all fight together, relentlessly,” French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot told Le Parisien.
"We have to stop importing the Israeli-Arab conflict into sports and universities," Barrot said. "We must stop exploiting the suffering of Middle Eastern civilians – whether Israeli, Palestinian or Lebanese – for despicable political maneuvers."
Different proposals for the upcoming sporting event surfaced in France following theattack on Jews and Israelis in Amsterdam, such as the suggestion by National Union parliament member Julien Odoul to move the game to the island of Corsica or to cancel the game altogether.
The possibility of a closed-door match was also raised, but French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau announced he would not accept relocating the game. "France will not back down, as that would mean surrendering to threats, violence and antisemitism."
"I don’t want to gift of an empty stadium to haters and antisemites," Yonathan Arfi, president of France’s Representative Council of French Jewish Institutions (CRIF) told Ynet. "The worst thing we can do is abandon the field and leave it to antisemites.”
“We understand the NSC's position, but this game has important symbolic significance: The stands must be full, including with French people who reject antisemitism.” Arfi stressed that they must "be cautious and pay attention to what’s happening. We aren’t diminishing the threat at all but we need to be there."
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French police forces outside the Stade De France
(Photo: AP Photo/Jean-Francois Badias)
Paris police chief Laurent Nuñez will be responsible for security. "There will be no failures. This game must take place under normal conditions but with a reduced number of spectators," he said in an interview. "The Football Federation saw that there was no rush to buy tickets and the organizers decided to reduce the number of tickets sold.”
The French are unwilling to discuss their security plan, but according to reports about 2,500 security personnel will be deployed around the stadium. Some 1,500 police officers and soldiers will be positioned in Paris and around the public transport network.
For the first time, security personnel will also be inside the stadium. "Security will be double checked. Once around the stadium using counter-terrorism units' screening methods and again at the stadium entrance with ID cards, searches and pat-downs,” Nunez explained.
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