Essential system in the face of security risk. A thousand police and soldiers will be deployed on Saturday around the Pierre-Mauroy stadium in Villeneuve-d’Ascq, in the northern suburbs of Lille, to watch the French Cup final between PSG and OL, which takes place this evening (9pm). An important basis for a meeting kept secret at the highest levels of the National Anti-Hooliganism Authority.
In a report by Le Parisien-Aujourd’hui in France, representatives of the Northern Prefecture explained that the 1,000 people mobilized include local police officers, mobile forces, as well as Sentinel soldiers. This includes support from an expected 30,400 fans for both teams, 15,200 on each side.
A prefectural decree adopted on Thursday regulates the presence of Parisian and Lyon supporters. They cannot go to the side of the fence square reserved for opposing fans: north for OL, south for PSG. Moreover, they must also remain in their part of the Pierre-Mauroy stadium, and none of the 20,000 “neutral” people must display any insignia of one of the clubs or behave like one of their fans.
PSG fans on one metro line, Lyon fans on another.
The authorities’ idea is to separate as much as possible the flow of supporters of Kylian Mbappe’s team and Alexandre Lacazette’s team. Parisians are invited to take the first route of the Lille metropolis, and residents of Lyon – the second. Those traveling on buses chartered by supporters’ associations will be grouped together and then escorted from the A1 motorway for PSG fans. A26 for OL supporters.
The northern prefecture also banned the consumption of alcohol and “all drinks” on public roads in the cities of Lille, Leysanne and Villeneuve-d’Ascq from Saturday afternoon until 4am the next day. In addition, the storage and use of pyrotechnic devices is prohibited on some streets around the final competition site. Law enforcement will also be able to search luggage and the inside of trunks of vehicles passing through the stadium.
Supporters of regular club Losk who wish to show off their colors are prohibited from entering the stadium, as well as several surrounding streets in Pierre-Mauroy. Players from OM and Nancy, who will face each other in the Gambardella Cup final at the end of the day, must remain in their assigned area of ​​the stadium. Finally, a temporary no-fly zone was created to prevent possible drones from passing through the area.
Source: Le Parisien
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