This Thursday, November 14, at 8:45 p.m. Thursday, the Stade de France hosts a crucial match of the League of Nations between France and Israel. Given the tense geopolitical climate, the confrontation is deemed “at high risk” by the French authorities. The Israeli team, led by Ran Ben Shimon, arrived in France on Monday, where it resides in a hotel whose location remains kept secret for security reasons.
An exceptional security system has been set up, with more than 4,000 police and gendarmes mobilized around the stadium and in the Parisian streets. “It is essential to secure not only the stage, but also the sensitive areas of the capital,” said Laurent Nuñez, police prefect of Paris, stressing the importance of preventing any incident.
This measure comes after the violence that occurred in Amsterdam last week, where Israeli supporters, instead of supporting their team, chose to cause tensions by tearing up a Palestinian flag hanging from a building. This provocative gesture, immortalized by videos circulating on social networks, ignited passions, causing clashes with Palestinian sympathizers. The attitude of these Israeli “hooligans”, seeking to exacerbate tensions in foreign land, illustrates a distrust of distrust that has nothing to do with sport.
Israel has also advised its nationals not to attend the meeting, in order to limit the risks of overflows.