Paris’s police chief Bernard Boucault has announced there will
be no more celebrations on the streets of the French capital for Paris
Saint-Germain after celebrations to mark the club’s first title in 19
years erupted in violence on Monday.
Celebrations to mark Paris Saint-Germain’s first French league
title in 19 years were cut short on Monday after violent scenes in which
fans fought with riot police, leaving 30 people injured, including
three police officers.
Following the clashes, which have dealt a serious blow to PSG’s bid
to restore its image following years of fan violence, Paris Police
Commissioner Bernard Boucault said that PSG would never again be allowed
to hold a public celebration in the French capital.
A total of 800 officers were deployed to contain the supporters,
Boucault said, but it took them several hours to bring the situation
under control.
“The conclusion you can draw is that there won’t be more any more
events like this in a public place for Paris Saint-Germain,” Boucault
said.
Smoke bombs and stones thrown
PSG struggles to combat hooligan problem
|
|
|
|
Tens
of thousands of fans had gathered at the Place du Trocadero by the
Eiffel Tower in Paris on Monday evening to see PSG’s players and coach
Carlo Ancelotti parade the Ligue 1 championship trophy, secured with a
1-0 win at Lyon on Sunday night.
Dressed smartly in dark suits, the players drew loud cheers from the
fans. Some in the crowd stood on rooftops, lit flares and climbed
scaffolding.
But there was not even time for a speech from Ancelotti or captain
Thiago Silva, who held the trophy aloft with defensive partner Mamadou
Sakho. After only a few minutes, the players were led away by security
officials.
Riot police moved in and fired tear gas after smoke bombs and various
objects were thrown, and the fans surged towards the players' podium,
officials said.
"There were numerous smoke bombs and objects thrown at the players'
podium, and a strong surge by the crowd when the players got onto the
podium,” a police source told the AFP news agency.
"Police officers reinforced security around the podium which resulted in objects being thrown at the security forces."
Interior Minister blamed
France’s main opposition UMP party laid the blame for the violent
clashes at Interior Minister Manuel Valls' door, accusing him of
"amateurism" over the security operation put in place for Monday’s
celebrations.
Claude Goasguen, the UMP mayor of Paris’s 16th arrondissement, where
the clashes took place, even called for Valls to resign over the
incident.
“The safety of people, fans, players and journalists was not
assured,” he said in a statement. “The Interior Minister must assume
full responsibility.”
Live images broadcast from the Trocadero showed an “unacceptable”
level of confusion in the efforts to contain the violence, Geoffroy
Didier, deputy secretary general of the UMP, said in a separate
statement.
"Where was the chief of police? What orders were given or not given? Where was the Interior Minister?” he said.
It is not the first time police authorities have been caught out this
season. Prior to PSG’s Champions League home match against Dinamo
Zagreb in November, about 100 hooligans from PSG and Dinamo clashed in
the Bastille area of Paris the night before the game - despite there
already being a decree in place banning the opposition fans from
attending the game.
