On the eve of the French Cup final between Nice and Lens, Paris transformed into a battleground. The match is scheduled for this Friday, and tensions ran high as rival fan groups clashed in the city.
Details: According to RMC Sport, around 11:30 p.m. last night, approximately one hundred Nice ultras left a local bar and took to the streets in search of rival fans. At that time, members of the notorious Parisian hooligan group Karsud, previously banned from Paris Saint-Germain’s (PSG) official fan movement in 2017, joined the confrontation. Eyewitnesses reported that the night had been peaceful until news spread that Karsud was looking for a fight.
Initially, law enforcement rated the match at a level 3 out of 5 on the risk scale. However, the National Division for the Fight Against Hooliganism issued confidential reports warning of a more serious threat from radical PSG supporters, despite the team not being involved in the final.
The police predictions proved correct when a significant and violent brawl broke out on the Quai de Valmy in Paris’s 10th arrondissement in the early hours of Friday. Authorities confirmed that local supporters have a long-standing and aggressive rivalry with fans of both Nice and Lens, which amplified the tensions leading up to the match.