Posted on June 1, 2026

Hundreds Arrested and Dozens of Police Injured After Champions League Riots in France

Paulin Kola, BBC, May 31, 2026

A total of 219 people have been injured in clashes between football fans and police across France after Paris St-Germain (PSG) won the Champions League final against Arsenal.

Eight were in a serious condition, Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said. Thousands of officers were deployed to curb unrest that disrupted bus, train and rail services in the capital, Paris. Fifty-seven of them were injured.

Nuñez said 780 people had been arrested over the violence – with more than 450 in custody. A person was found dead after an accident on Paris’s ring road, which rioters tried to block overnight.

Some 6,000 police have been mobilised for Sunday’s victory celebrations, which began at the Eiffel Tower.

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Thousands of officers had been deployed this time to curb unrest that disrupted bus, train and rail services in Paris.

The vast Champs-Élysées was swarmed by fans shortly after the local team won in a penalty shootout.

Footage shows flares being set off, electric bikes burning on roads and revellers smashing the glass of at least one shopfront. Police fired tear gas to disperse crowds in the city centre.

Paris police made 480 arrests, with 277 taken into custody, including 82 minors.

The figures were provisional, the Paris prosecutor’s office said. It added that offences ranged from attacks on officers to attacks on property, theft, as well as illegal possession of weapons.

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