The sporting issue is largely overshadowed by the geopolitical context. The French soccer team receives Israel, on Thursday, November 14, at the Stade de France, for a Nations League meeting surrounded by exceptional security, in the middle of the conflict in the Middle East and a week after the acts of violence occurred in Amsterdam on the sidelines of a Maccabi Tel-Aviv match against Ajax.
Secure this match, judged “high risk” by the Paris police prefect, Laurent Nuñez, has become a major problem, as Europe faces an increase in racist and anti-Semitic acts, since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas, in the Gaza Strip, on October 7, 2023.
The excesses that followed the Europa League match between Ajax and Maccabi Tel-Aviv, on the night of November 7-8 in Amsterdam, exacerbated fears. Israeli supporters were attacked on the streets of the Dutch capital. Five people were briefly hospitalized, according to the national police, who made 63 arrests. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu denounced a “terrible accident” and sent repatriation planes. The Amsterdam City Council reported a “explosion of antisemitism”while outrage reactions have multiplied around the world.
The French authorities ruled out the idea of moving the match, unlike Belgium, which had given up hosting Israel on September 6 in Brussels and the match finally took place in Debrecen, Hungary.
“Some are calling for the France-Israel match to be moved. “I do not accept it: France does not back down, because that would be equivalent to abdicating in the face of threats of violence and anti-Semitism.”wrote the Minister of the Interior, Bruno Retailleau, on day X, the day after the events in Amsterdam.
Therefore, the deployment of law enforcement forces will be “very unusual” for an international meeting, Núñez explained. Four thousand police and gendarmes will be present in the surrounding area and, somewhat strangely, in the stadium, as well as on public transport and throughout Paris. Around 1,600 security officers will also be mobilized at the Stade de France and the RAID, the elite unit of the national police, will guarantee the security of the Israel team, isolated in a bubble since its arrival in France on Monday.
A point to classify
“We feel pretty safe here. There are many security forces around us. “They do the right thing and I focus on the game.”declared Israeli coach Ran Ben Shimon in a video released on Tuesday by his federation.
Israel, however, invited its fans on Sunday to avoid going to the Stade de France, where the match will be played at 8:40 p.m. In any case, the Saint-Denis stadium will sound especially empty, since the Minister of Sports, Gil. Avérous, on Wednesday in Europe 1, estimated the number of seats sold for the meeting at 25,000, for his part Bruno Retailleau.“a very small caliber”, between “12,000 and 13,000 people”, to the BFM-TV microphone. We are thus approaching the lowest attendance in the history of this stadium (36,842 spectators in France – New Zealand, in 2003).
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The match will develop, however, under the gaze of the President of the Republic, Emmanuel Macron, who wishes “to send a message of fraternity and solidarity after the intolerable anti-Semitic acts that followed the Amsterdam match”according to those around him. His two predecessors, Nicolas Sarkozy and François Hollande, will also be present, as well as the current Prime Minister, Michel Barnier, according to various media.
On the pitch, Didier Deschamps’ Blues, deprived of their star captain Kylian Mbappé for the second consecutive month, will try to get their ticket to the quarterfinals of the Nations League. Second in their group, they only need one point to qualify.
“We have made sure to prepare for this match as normally as possible, but, obviously, no one can be insensitive to the context, which is heavy and heavy.”Didier Deschamps stressed at a press conference on Wednesday.
Even without Kylian Mbappé, the task should be just a formality, a month after an easy victory against the same Israelis, in Budapest (4-1). Beyond the security aspect, the shadow of the attacker, who accumulates setbacks (failed Europe 2024, financial conflict with PSG, laborious integration at Real Madrid, rape accusations coming from the Swedish press), will inevitably haunt Saint-Denis .
In October, his absence had little impact on the performance of the world runners-up, who beat Israel and Belgium in Brussels (2-1). Although Didier Deschamps will also have to do without Ousmane Dembélé, injured in a thigh, and will have to remodel his offensive sector, he has all the cards in his hand to ensure qualification before completing this group stage and the year 2024 against Italy, on Sunday in Milan.
