post-champions league celebrations: 780 arrests across France after psg’s final victory
Minister of the Interior Laurent Nuñez confirmed 780 individuals were apprehended nationwide, with 457 taken into custody, following the celebrations of Paris Saint-Germain’s Champions League triumph. He firmly stated, “These disturbances are absolutely unacceptable.”
Minister of the Interior Laurent Nuñez confirmed on Sunday, May 31st, that authorities apprehended 780 individuals across France following the celebrations for Paris Saint-Germain’s (PSG) Champions League victory. Of these, 457 were taken into police custody. This figure represents a significant 32% increase compared to the 592 arrests made in 2025 after the Parisian club’s initial Champions League win, when 491 of those arrests occurred in Paris alone. Nuñez also reported that 57 police and gendarmerie officers sustained injuries during the overnight events.
Tragically, a fatal motocross accident unfolded on the Paris périphérique between Saturday night and Sunday morning, coinciding with the PSG victory celebrations. According to Paris prosecutors, the motocross rider, born in 2002, collided head-on with concrete barriers near a Porte Maillot exit ramp. Separately, a person in the capital suffered life-threatening injuries from a stabbing incident, as confirmed by the same source.
Two pedestrians injured in hit-and-run
“We observed festive demonstrations that were unfortunately marred by a number of disturbances, a scenario we had anticipated and prepared for,” stated Minister of the Interior Laurent Nuñez during a press briefing around 1:30 AM on Sunday.
Furthermore, an individual driving a vehicle injured two pedestrians in Paris on Saturday evening before fleeing the scene. Witnesses described the driver losing control of their vehicle and crashing into a terrace. Nuñez indicated that, to his knowledge, the most severely injured person’s life was not in danger.
The prefecture emphasized its meticulous preparation of the security apparatus for the Champions League final, coordinating with other major events simultaneously taking place in the capital. These included a rugby match, the ongoing Roland-Garros tennis tournament, and several concerts, notably Aya Nakamura at the Stade de France and Damso at the Paris La Défense Arena. With a formidable deployment of 22,000 police and gendarmes, including 8,000 specifically for Paris and its surrounding area, law enforcement had implemented an extraordinary security plan.
