Thousands of police attend Israel match in France after Amsterdam attacks

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A heavy police presence but few visiting fans is expected as France hosts Israel in a Nations League football match on Thursday, a week after violence in Amsterdam over the visit of an Israeli club team.

French police chief Laurent Nunez said that 4,000 police officers and security personnel will be assigned around the Stade de France, and 1,500 police will be assigned to public transport.

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Paris authorities were alarmed by the violence in Amsterdam before and after the Europa League match between Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv. Dutch officials say fans from both sides were involved in the incidents. Attacks on Maccabi fans sparked outrage and were widely condemned as anti-Semitic.

Netanyahu sends rescue planes after violent attack by Israeli fans after Amsterdam football match

“What we learned from Amsterdam is that we need to be in public spaces, away from the stadium, and on public transport before and after the match,” Nunez told French news broadcaster France Info on Thursday.

Three months after hosting the Olympic closing ceremony, the atmosphere changed from revelry to fear, with three-quarters of the national stadium expected to be empty for the match. French President Emmanuel Macron and French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau will also be present. Former presidents François Hollande and Nicolas Sarkozy will also attend.

Only 20,000 of 80,000 tickets were sold, and around 150 Israeli fans were reportedly in attendance, escorted by police.

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“We tried to prepare for this match as normally as possible. But obviously none of us in the team can remain indifferent to such a serious situation,” France coach Didier Deschamps said on Wednesday. “It affects the amount of supporters available tomorrow and everything that comes with it.”

On October 10, the away match against Israel, which France won 4-1, was played in Budapest, Hungary.

“These are situations the players are not used to,” Deschamps said. “But we need to adapt.”

The low number of visiting fans comes after Israel’s National Security Council warned citizens abroad to avoid sporting and cultural events, especially the match in Paris.

Retailleau told French news channel TF1 on Tuesday that no specific threat had been identified but that “zero risk does not exist”.

For this reason, he said, exceptional measures were taken “before, during and after the match”.

The French National Police’s elite tactical unit, known as RAID, will be in the stadium and some officers will mingle with plainclothes fans. Intensive surveillance will also be implemented in Paris, including Jewish places of worship and schools.

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“We cannot risk seeing a repeat of the dramatic manhunt we saw in Amsterdam,” Retailleau said, adding that it was unlikely the game would be postponed or moved elsewhere.

“France does not give in and the France-Israel match will be played where it should be,” he said.

The match in the northern Paris suburb of Saint-Denis is scheduled to kick off at 20.45 local time (1945 GMT). A pro-Palestinian demonstration was held in Saint-Denis square at 18:00 local time to protest the match.

Nine years ago, the Stade de France was one of the sites of the 13 November terrorist attacks, in which 130 people died. That night France were playing Germany and two explosions occurred outside the stadium.

Deschamps, Germany Coach Joachim Löw and all the players stayed together in the dressing rooms for hours until a safe environment was established.

“This is a sad date for us, considering what happened in 2015,” Deschamps said.

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