The sporting issue of the football match overshadowed by the political and security context.

Seventeen months after their last match at the Stade de France, against Greece in June 2023, Les Bleus will return to the Dionysian venue in “a heavy and tense context”in the words of Didier Deschamps. The coach of the French team would have liked a better reception, on Thursday, November 14, for his players, who only need one point to qualify for the quarterfinals of the Nations League. Instead, it is a bunker-type stadium where they will play the Israeli team.

This meeting, which for several weeks has sparked numerous debates about its continuation and fears about its progress, has been classified as very high risk (five out of five) by the National Division to Combat Vandalism. Drastic measures have been taken to ensure safety and this will make the sporting aspect take a backseat on Thursday.

Throughout the afternoon – the kick-off will take place at 8:45 p.m. – 4,000 police officers will be mobilized around the venue and in the capital. The first seven rows of the entire stadium will be condemned in the stands.

To prevent any intrusion on the playing field and any interruption of the match, doors have been installed at the foot of all stands, such as during the 2023 French Cup final, between Nantes and Toulouse. These same grilles were only placed at the foot of the curves during the final of the same competition, in 2016, between Olympique de Marseille and Paris Saint-Germain.

“The reality of our friends and loved ones”

For the main protagonists of this meeting, it is almost impossible not to think about the context in which this meeting will take place. “We try to prepare this match as normally as possible (…) so that it continues to be a football match”Didier Deschamps stressed at a press conference on Wednesday.

Asked about the meaning of facing Israel under these conditions, three of the French team players barely commented on the subject, quickly moving on to the sports topic. N’Golo Kanté, who will be captain on Thursday in the absence of Kylian Mbappé, expressed his “grief” and lucas chevalier ” compassion ” about the current situation in the Middle East. Dayot Upamecano expressed the desire, on behalf of all the blues, to obtain the ” peace “.

The Bayern Munich defender, however, declared that he was not aware of the events that occurred in Amsterdam on the night of November 7-8. Several Maccabi Tel Aviv fans were attacked in the Dutch capital after a Europa League match against Ajax.

These events have evidently marked the players of the Israeli national team, seven of whom play for Maccabi Tel-Aviv, who cannot remain indifferent to the events that have been taking place in their country since the attacks of October 7. Oscar Gloukh, a talented 20-year-old midfielder, and Idan Nachmias, a 27-year-old central defender, lost their loved ones during their country’s offensive in the Gaza Strip. “These are things that we must remember every day, it is the reality of our friends and loved ones”Eli Dasa, captain of Israel, confided on Wednesday.

During the last match, upon arrival in Budapest (Hungary) where they have played all their “home” games for more than a year, the Israeli players organized a ceremony to pay tribute to the victims of the Jewish State during the conflicts carried out in Gaza and Lebanon.

Israelis under high security since their arrival

During the press conference the day before the match, Eli Dasa celebrated “thank the French government for the welcome and security” available to the twenty-six players of the Israeli team. As soon as they arrived in French territory, on Monday, they went to their hotel, whose name has not been revealed.

On Tuesday morning they participated in training at a location in Val-d’Oise, whose location has not been revealed, and under high security: law enforcement officers and a national gendarmerie helicopter secured the perimeter. The press conference that was to be held immediately was canceled at the request of local authorities.

Statements in French by Ethane Azoulay, a 22-year-old Israeli international born in Paris, were made known to the media. “We focus on the game. “We only think about football, not too much about what’s around us.”confided the Maccabi Haifa player. “I try to focus on what I have at hand”declared Ran Ben Shimon on Wednesday.

The coach knows that his team is already almost condemned to relegation to the Nations League, since they lost their first four games of the group stage, including the first leg against Les Bleus, in Budapest, in October (1-4) . But he hopes to be able to achieve a feat, despite the context. “It is difficult to receive bad news from the country because it affects us. But the real difficulty for soldiers fighting in Israel is achieving peace. “We are fighting to bring a little kindness to the people of the country.”Ran Ben Shimon said.

Their players will have the support of a hundred Israeli fans, who will occupy the visitors’ car park at the Stade de France. The Hebrew government recommended that its citizens not attend this meeting, fearing events similar to those in Amsterdam. The security system established for this meeting must prevent any incident and allow the actors to finally concentrate on the field.