‘Premeditated Intentions to Fight’: French MP Slams Israeli Fans after Paris Match
French MP Raphaël Arnault has accused Israeli fans of deliberately inciting trouble during their team’s match against France in Saint-Denis, a suburb of Paris.
In a post on X on Thursday, Arnaut, a left-wing France Insoumise party member, said that the fans had premeditated intentions to cause unrest and questioned what measures authorities took to prevent such incidents.
“The Israeli supremacists had warned: they were coming to fight,” he said, adding that “at this very moment, several lynchings have just taken place at the Stade de France.”
“What has been done to prevent this violence, other than supporting and encouraging far-right 🇮🇱 hooligans to do it again?” he wondered.
France Insoumise party coordinator Manuel Bompard also shared footage on social media showing Israeli fans assaulting French citizens, describing the incidents as “shameful.”
Meanwhile, French journalist Emmanuel Hoarau raised a Palestinian flag during the match and criticized restrictions on freedom of _expression_, saying such measures cannot overshadow the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
“Not a single restriction on freedom of _expression_ can make us forget the ongoing massacre of civilians in Gaza,” Hoarau wrote on X.
The Dutch Case
The match was played under heavy security, with 4,000 police officers deployed amid concerns of violence following recent clashes between Maccabi Tel Aviv and Ajax Amsterdam fans during a Europa League match in the Netherlands.
In the Netherlands, Dutch politician Shahr Khan condemned the actions of Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters during their match against Ajax.
He accused the fans of chanting pro-genocide slogans about Gaza and engaging in provocative acts such as tearing down Palestinian flags and shouting racist slurs.
Khan criticized Amsterdam Mayor Femke Halsema for using the term “pogrom” to describe the violence, arguing that it ignored the provocations by Israeli fans while raising unnecessary alarm among the Jewish community.
Khan welcomed the arrest of 10 Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters by Dutch authorities during the clashes, noting that although they had returned to Israel, he hoped they would be extradited to face trial in the Netherlands if found guilty.
The violence continued after Ajax’s 5-0 victory, with tensions escalating due to racist chants by Maccabi Tel Aviv fans, including one boasting, “There is no school in Gaza because there are no more children.” The clashes involved vandalism, assaults, and harassment of Dutch taxi drivers of Arab origin.
The Dutch police arrested 57 Arab individuals following claims by Israel’s Foreign Ministry that 10 Israeli fans were injured and two were temporarily unaccounted for.
The incidents sparked widespread criticism, with Khan emphasizing that the ongoing genocide in Gaza fuels societal tensions, adding, “As long as the genocide continues, so will the unrest.”
(The Palestine Chronicle)