Triumphant: French supporters celebrate near the Arc de Triomphe and the Champs-Elysees avenue at the end of the semi-final match against Morocco. — AP
WAVING tricolour flags and setting off flares, French supporters erupted in jubilation around the iconic Champs-Elysees avenue after France’s triumph over Morocco put Les Bleus into the World Cup final.
The celebrations were mostly peaceful around Paris, but there were some signs of unrest in other parts of the country, including a fatal post-match hit-and-run incident in Montpellier.
About 10,000 police were mobilised across France, as authorities fretted over potential clashes between French supporters and those backing its one-time North African colony.
As football lovers in Paris thronged to the end of the avenue leading to the Arc de Triomphe, the mood was impassioned but largely good-natured, with Moroccan supporters accepting defeat.
“We are in the final. We are in the final,” hundreds of French supporters chanted as drivers sounded horns and anti-riot police lurked.
A French anti-riot police van even used one of its sirens to mark the moment when Kolo Muani scored France’s second goal.
“What pleasure it will be to play Argentina in the final,” said Sylvain Badin, 24, clutching a French flag. “I came to share a moment of joy.”
Dozens of Moroccan fans also made themselves heard during the match, swathing themselves in national flags as they followed the game on their phones.
“We lost but it’s only football and we made history by making the semi-finals. We are proud of our country and happy for France,” said Kamal Seddiki, a 22-year-old Moroccan student.
Some fans setting off fireworks around the Arc de Triomphe were dispersed by police.
A group of about 40 people aligned with far-right groups were arrested for carrying prohibited weapons before they could get to the Champs-Elysees, a police source said.
“They clearly wanted to fight on the Champs,” the source said.
In total more than 100 arrests took place around the Paris area, police said.
In Nice, trash cans were set on fire after the game in the centre of the city where thousands had gathered, an AFP photographer said.
In France’s third-largest city Lyon, a concerto of horns also erupted after the match, but the scene of jubilation became tense when “a group of far-right youths approached fans”, said Lyon prefecture official.
“There was a brawl and police quickly intervened,” the local source said. — AFP
