World Cup 2022. Bordeaux, Paris, Marseille… France jubilant after the victory of the Blues
On the Champs-Élysées in Paris, Bordeaux, Lyon or even Marseille, the qualification of the Blues for the final of the World Cup-2022 was announced on Wednesday by thousands of supporters in a largely good-natured atmosphere with some excesses.
“We are in the final, we are in the final! “, hundreds of supporters gathered spontaneously despite the cold on the Champs-Élysées in the heart of Paris, as soon as the match ended, while the cars which descended the famous Parisian avenue held their horns.
“What a pleasure to return to Argentina”
“It’s a party, we won, we’re in the final. For me, we win without a doubt (Sunday’s final, editor’s note), this star is ours, I wanted to experience that on the Champs, it’s once in a lifetime, “said Anna Issa, 18. , who came from Reunion to Paris “for lack of going to Qatar”.
“I am very happy to find the final, it is the second time in four years (after 2018)”, an added Sylvain Badin, 24 years old. “And what a pleasure to find Argentina (in the final). I came to share a moment of joy, ”he added before pinching and putting away his French flag to try to find a friend.
Joy in the Paris metro
Earlier during the match, a few dozen Moroccan supporters had gathered, their country’s starred red flag on their backs, to follow the match on their mobile phones.
“We are proud of our country and happy for France”
“We lost, but it’s only football, we made history by going to the semi-finals (…) We are proud of our country and happy for France”, insisted for his part Kamal Seddiki , a 22-year-old Moroccan student.
When France doubled the bet by Randal Kolo Muani (79th), the goal was rewarded with a CRS car which justified its siren when there was a strong presence of police and gendarmes, some equipped with helmets and shields.
Some 10,000 police and gendarmes have been mobilized in France to supervise the supporters of the two teams. The police had made 170 arrests, including 100 in Paris, at the time of the incidents which occurred after Morocco and France qualified for the semi-finals last Saturday.
Shortly before 11 p.m., a CRS charge dispersed hundreds of supporters, some of whom were shooting fireworks, gathered around the Arc de Triomphe.
Fireworks and smoke bombs in Bordeaux
In Bordeaux, the Place de la Victoire was blackened with people from the final whistle, with its procession of fireworks, and smoke bombs on this square surrounded by bars which were overflowing with people.
According to the prefecture, 2,500 people passed through the square around 10:30 p.m., with no apparent overflow. “France-Morocco is a great match. We are happy to go to the final against Argentina. The atmosphere was great, at the + Victory +, there is always atmosphere, ”rejoiced Sybil Barbier, a twenty-year-old journalism student.
“We are happy for France, assured Hossam Boutalah, a twenty-year-old student, Moroccan flag on his back. We are brothers after all, we are together. It is our second country. Morocco played well and deserved to score a goal. »
Some excesses in Lyon
In Marseille, 3000 people were present to celebrate on the Old Port and no notable incident.
There were also several thousand supporters in the center of Nice, while in Montpellier, on the Place de la Comédie, tempers flared shortly before the end of the match, but the intervention of the police allowed a quick return to calm and the atmosphere became festive again, according to the prefecture.
In Lyon, the party was peppered with outbursts while several hundred young people were gathered on the famous Place Bellecour, some detonating firecrackers and fireworks, forcing the police to launch several tear gas shots.