French law enforcement detained 780 individuals following a wave of violent clashes that erupted across Paris and several other cities on Saturday night. The unrest broke out shortly after captured the Champions League title.
Widespread destruction and casualties
Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said that 57 police officers sustained injuries, mostly minor, as unruly football fans lit fires and looted storefronts. In one of the night’s most extreme incidents, a small mob attempted to breach a Paris police station.
Nunez said at a news conference Sunday that “the situation has been largely brought under control”.
“Most of the celebrations took place peacefully” across the French capital, he said, noting most incidents happened in the Champs Elysees neighbourhood and close to the Parc des Princes stadium in western Paris where fans had gathered to watch the match.
Officers were also forced to intervene five separate times throughout the night to stop rioters from blocking traffic on Paris’s primary ring road.
According to Nunez, disturbances shook roughly 15 cities across , with “one to two” shops vandalised in each municipality outside of the capital. Out of the 780 total detentions nationwide, 480 took place within the Paris metropolitan area alone.
Judicial action
The Paris prosecutors’ office announced that 277 individuals—including 82 minors—have been placed in formal police custody. The majority face charges for assaulting law enforcement officers, while others are accused of theft, property damage, and disturbing public order.
The chaos also led to a severe traffic accident when a driver lost control of a vehicle and crashed into a restaurant’s outdoor terrace, injuring two people, one critically.
Enforcement stance
Despite the wreckage, Nunez confirmed that Sunday afternoon’s official victory celebrations at the Champ de Mars, near the Eiffel Tower, would proceed. However, he warned that security forces would react with “firmness and determination” against any further disruptions. Following the public rally, the PSG squad is scheduled to be hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron at the Élysée Palace.
Chaos on the Champs-Élysées
The unrest originally began as celebratory gatherings immediately after the final whistle blew in Budapest, Hungary, where Paris Saint-Germain defeated Arsenal on penalties in a dramatic final showdown.
Large crowds quickly flooded the avenues surrounding Paris’s iconic Arc de Triomphe, with fans lighting flares and honking car horns. An estimated 20,000 people packed the Champs-Élysées, where heavily deployed police forces fought to maintain order.
The Paris police prefecture noted that splinter factions soon began instigating violence across various neighborhoods. These groups torched garbage bins, destroyed self-service bicycles, and set multiple cars on fire. The mob that attempted to storm the police station in the upscale 8th Arrondissement was ultimately dispersed by law enforcement.
This weekend’s violence marks a visible escalation from May of last year, when PSG’s first championship win resulted in 201 injuries in the capital and more than 500 arrests nationwide.
