France braces for Israel football match after violence in Amsterdam
Al JazeeraFrance tightens security before game that pro-Palestinian groups say should be boycotted given Israel’s onslaught in the Middle East. Paris, France – Thousands of extra police officers are being deployed in and around Paris ahead of a France-Israel football match on Thursday which comes a week after violence exploded on the streets of Amsterdam. Leopold Lambert, an editor and architect in the French capital, said, “The atmosphere in Paris, at least for people who both have Palestine and football in mind, is the desire for a strong solidarity action to happen, which probably will have to occur outside of the stadium given the massive police apparatus.” Pro-Palestinian protesters plan to gather in front of the Saint-Denis town hall, which is about a 20-minute walk from the stadium, on Thursday evening to express their opposition to the match. ‘Europe should censor Israeli athletes’ French President Emmanuel Macron and Prime Minister Michel Barnier plan to attend Thursday’s game as a “message of fraternity and solidarity after the intolerable acts of anti-Semitism that followed the match in Amsterdam this week”, Macron’s office said in a statement sent to AFP. And in going to the stadium, he’s only making it even more apparent.” Sabine Agostini, a French Lebanese supporter of France’s national football team, believes the match should be cancelled.