France won’t call off Israel game after violence in Amsterdam, minister says

Despite the violence directed at Israeli soccer fans in Amsterdam, France won’t change its plans to host a Nations’ League game against Israel next week, the interior minister said on Friday.

“France is not backing down because that would amount to giving up in the face of threats of violence and anti-Semitism”, Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau said in a post on X.

Tensions over Israel’s conduct in the war in Gaza are running high in France, home to Europe’s largest Jewish and Muslim communities, where authorities this year reported a surge in antisemitic incidents.

Israel said it would send two planes to bring back fans of an Israeli soccer team from the Netherlands on Friday after overnight attacks in the streets that officials described as antisemitic.

Videos circulating on social media showed riot police intervening in street clashes, with some attackers shouting anti-Israeli slurs.

Paris police are planning to deploy over 2,000 officers around the Stade de France to secure the game on Thursday, Nov. 14, BFM TV reported. Authorities are also expected to cordon off an unusually large security perimeter.

The interior ministry and Paris police department did not immediately reply to Reuters’ requests for details of the exact plans.

Retailleau was meeting with the heads of the French soccer federation and top club PSG on Friday morning following the unfurling of a giant “Free Palestine” banner at a Champions League match this week.