Algerian football fans go berserk in France | Sunday Observer

Algerian football fans go berserk in France

21 July, 2019

PARIS AFP July: Thousands of extra French police were put on duty later Friday in Paris and other major cities following clashes involving Algerian football fans that have touched off a debate about national identity.

Algeria played Senegal in the final of the African Cup of Nations on Friday evening with excitement high in France which is home to a huge Algerian-origin population due to the country’s colonial history.

Thousands of people partied in the streets when Algeria won its quarter-final on July 11 and then again for the semi-final on July 14, but the celebrations were later marred by pillaging and street clashes.

“I call on people celebrating, even if I understand their joy, to behave themselves,” Paris police chief Didier Lallement told a press conference.

Around 2,500 police officers were mobilised around the Champs-Elysees and Arc de Triomphe where crowds set off fireworks and flew flags from car windows last Sunday, which was also France’s national Bastille Day.

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