PARIS — French police detained over 400 people involved in violent clashes in Paris and other French cities that erupted Saturday night after Paris Saint-Germain won the Champions League title.
Seven officers were injured as football fans set off fires and vandalized shops, Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said, describing the violence as “absolutely unacceptable.” One small group even tried to storm a Paris police station.
Nuñez said rioting took place in about 15 cities in France, and that nearly 400 people were detained in all, with nearly 300 of them in Paris alone.
But he said that planned celebrations for the team's win on Sunday afternoon at the Champ de Mars, near the Eiffel Tower, would go ahead as scheduled. The PSG team will then be hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron at the Elysee presidential palace.
Fans began celebrating in Paris after the final whistle Saturday evening in Budapest, Hungary, where Paris Saint-Germain won by beating Arsenal on penalties in a dramatic final.
Fans marched along the avenues near Paris' Arc de Triomphe monument, with some setting off flares and blaring car horns. Around 20,000 people gathered on the Champs-Elysees, where police worked to contain the crowd.
The Paris police prefecture said smaller groups caused disturbances in various locations, with some vandalizing shops and setting fires. Cars were also set ablaze. Those who attempted to storm a police station in the posh 8th Arrondissement neighborhood were dispersed, police said.
In May last year following PSG’s first title, 201 people were injured in the French capital and police made more than 500 arrests across France.
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