Police brutally disperse crowds in Paris as Argentina wins World Cup

Paris has seen some intense clashes between the police and football fans on Sunday night as the French national team suffered a defeat to Argentina at the World Cup in Qatar. Police officers in riot gear were deployed to disperse the crowds still occupying the iconic Champs Elysees avenue in central Paris after the final match.

“In such a situation, only those who have come to fight … remain,” a police source told Le Parisien. Photos and videos published on social media showed large groups of police officers wearing riot gear chasing the fans down the Champs Elysees while kicking them and bashing them with the shields.

Fans are seen fighting back and throwing fireworks at the officers on some of the videos. Most videos only show the crowd running away from the law enforcement officers, though. One of the videos also showed a man lying on the ground and surrounded by police officers. According to Le Parisien, the police charged a small crowd of fans that were throwing bottles and fireworks and managed to quickly disperse them.

An hour after the end of the match, the police arrested some ten people over the possession of fireworks, Le Parisien reported. There were no reports about injuries or property damage, although some people on social media spoke of “riots” in Paris in the wake of the final game.

The police deployed over 2,700 officers to Paris alone ahead of the game in anticipation of potential unrest, according to the French media. The French capital as well as the nation’s other cities have seen outbreaks of violence following France’s World Cup semifinal victory over Morocco last week.

A boy died in the southern French city of Montpellier after being “violently hit” by a car as rival football fans clashed at that time.

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