French authorities said Sunday that two fans died and a policeman was in a coma after French celebrations in honor of Paris Saint-Germain's all-time Champions League victory turned violent on Saturday night. The Champions League is the largest football award in Europe.
In addition, at least 559 people were arrested nationwide during the massive celebrations, including at least 491 in the capital, AFP said.
It was a booming night in the game where PSG beat Inter Milan 5-0. The Eiffel Tower glows in the colors of the team, and fans celebrate at night that were largely peaceful but turned violent in some areas.
A 17-year-old boy was stabbed to death in the western city of Dax after the final in Munich on Saturday night, the National Police said. A man in his 20s was killed in Paris by a car during a PSG celebration, the interior minister's office said. The situation of both is under investigation.
A police officer accidentally bumped into a fireworks at a PSG party in coutances in northwestern France and was placed in a artificial coma due to severe eye injury, the National Police said. The Paris police chief said a total of 192 people were injured, four of whom were taken seriously.
The French National Police said the officers hit by fireworks were one of the "many" police and firefighters around France who were injured in orders to intervene to resume the Champions League celebrations.
The team is expected to return to the Champs-élysées' large victory parade on Sunday afternoon, allowing up to 110,000 people to visit the winning players along the iconic, tree-lined avenue.
Later, the team will join fans, packing PSG's home stadium, Prince, and on the west side of the city, conducting formal speeches at concerts and light shows and Champions League trophy.
On extraordinary days, a lot of traffic in central Paris was closed. Security measures also affected the opening near the French Open.
Laurent Nunez, chief of the Paris Police Department, told reporters that thousands of police officers are deploying to maintain order and will adopt a similar strategy. AP reporters saw tear gas used near the stadium and water cannons used near Triomphe to disperse the noisy crowd.
In addition to injuries and arrests, Nunes said four stores were plundered overnight. Firefighters are so busy putting out garbage that they can open fire in the middle of the celebration and deal with other emergencies that the hotline is saturated.
By 2 a.m. Sunday, a total of 294 people were arrested, 30 of whom broke into the shoe store in Champs-élysées. Police added that the two cars were close to the prince.
At the de la bastille, as fans climb up to the bottom of the famous column, sing, dance and let go of the flares, and those around them join in.
Once, the motorcycle whirled the engine loudly, and the crowd cheered as they were around the cylinder. There were no police nearby, and it was 1 a.m. and the atmosphere was optimistic, without any tension or singing.
Nunes blames the scattered trouble on “thousands of people come to commit violence” rather than watching the game. He pointed to the bystanders of the capital's celebrations, such as after France won the World Cup in 2018.