Clashes in France after PSG win Champions League: 219 injured, 780 arrested

Eight people are in serious condition, Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said. Thousands of police were deployed to quell the riots that disrupted bus, train and rail traffic in the French capital, Paris. 57 people were injured

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Police on the streets of Paris, Photo: Reuters
Police on the streets of Paris, Photo: Reuters
Disclaimer: The translations are mostly done through AI translator and might not be 100% accurate.
Ažurirano: 31.05.2026. 15:05h

A total of 219 people were injured in clashes between football fans and police across France after Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) beat Arsenal in the Champions League final, the BBC reports.

Last night in Budapest, PSG defeated Arsenal in London after a better penalty shootout and won their second consecutive European title.

Eight people are in serious condition, Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said. Thousands of police were deployed to quell the riots that disrupted bus, train and rail traffic in the French capital, Paris. 57 people were injured.

Nunez said 780 people had been arrested in connection with the violence, with more than 450 in custody. One person was found dead after an accident on the Paris ring road, which rioters had tried to block overnight.

Around 6.000 police officers have been mobilized for Sunday's victory parade at the Eiffel Tower.

The interior minister said security forces would react "decisively".

"We are a great country when it comes to maintaining public order. We allow freedom of assembly, but not excesses," he said.

Similar violence occurred when PSG won the same trophy last year, and the celebrations had a deadly outcome.

Thousands of police were deployed this time to quell the riots that disrupted bus, train and rail traffic in Paris.

The vast Champs-Élysées was flooded with fans shortly after PSG defeated Arsenal on penalties.

Footage showed torches being lit, electric bicycles burning in the streets and revellers smashing the windows of at least one store. Police fired tear gas to disperse the crowd in the city center.

Paris police arrested 480 people, 277 of whom were detained, including 82 minors, according to the BBC.

The figures are provisional, the Paris prosecutor's office said, adding that the offences range from attacks on police officers and property to thefts and illegal possession of weapons.

The circumstances surrounding the death of a 24-year-old man near Porte Maillot on the Paris ring road remain unclear. Some witnesses said he was riding a motorcycle when he hit concrete blocks.

A teenager is also in critical condition after a fight in another part of Paris. It is not clear whether they were involved in the football-related riots.

"The vast majority come out to celebrate and everything goes very well. But other individuals, who are not PSG fans, who are not even watching the game, come to cause problems and riots. We are here to prevent them from doing so. Our response is very decisive," the French interior minister said today.

Far-right leader Marine Le Pen wrote on X: "Only in France does a football club victory cause riots. Only in France does everyone feel the need to lock themselves in their homes the evening after a victory to avoid facing violence."

The players are scheduled to take part in a victory parade later today. It includes a tour of the Champ de Mars by the Eiffel Tower and a reception by French President Emmanuel Macron.

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