After Qatar’s World Cup semi-final between France and Morocco, concerns focused on the avenue des Champs Elysees, the heart of all Paris’ celebrations. But acts of violence have been recorded in other parts of the country.
In Montpellier, southern France, authorities report that “a 14-year-old Moroccan boy was struck and killed by an “Edway” driver.
There were reports of violence between supporters in cities such as Nice, Lyon, Bordeaux and Avignon.
In the French capital, thousands of fans celebrated on Avenida dos Champs Elysées in the heart of the city as Cowles reached the finals of the 2022 World Cup. The ‘Blues’ celebrations started before the end of the match as France beat Morocco 2-0.
Fearing a repeat of acts of vandalism after Morocco-Portugal on Saturday, the French interior minister ordered a reinforcement of the security apparatus now deployed in various parts of the country with 10,000 security agents. Police. Half are in the French capital and the other half are distributed throughout the region.
In Belgium, according to AFP, riot police had to intervene on the streets of Brussels to disperse crowds using water cannons and tear gas.
Yet in Brussels, a supporter had to remove a French flag from a window following protests by Moroccan supporters.
Defending champions France qualified for the 2022 World Cup finals after beating Morocco 2-0 in the second semi-final in Al Ghor, Qatar.
In this World Cup, the Moroccan national team made history by becoming the first African country to advance to the semi-finals of the World Football Championship.
It is estimated that almost one million Moroccans live in France. Many have dual citizenship. It is considered the second largest foreign community in France after the Algerians and outnumbers the Portuguese.
(Post updated at 00:37)
*With AFP and Lusa
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