France after the Champions League final: fires, deaths and over 500 arrests
Mass riots and clashes with police broke out in France late on Saturday, May 31, following the victory of Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League final. As of early morning on June 1, two people were reported dead, nearly 200 injured, and over 550 arrested, Le Figaro reported .
Incidents were reported across the country, but the biggest riots occurred in Paris. On the Champs-Élysées, fans began smashing bus stops and storefronts, setting off firecrackers that started fires.
Welcome to Paris. A developed liberal city. Well done Macron. #paris #parisriots . pic.twitter.com/idfv9KNYtJ
— Vikrant (@Vikspeaks1) June 1, 2025
Pillage intégral du Foot Locker des Champs-Élysées.
— AnthoZ (@AnthoDepe) May 31, 2025
PSG wins the Champions League 2025 against Inter Milan. #France #Paris #31mai2025 #PSGInter #LeagueDesChampions #UCL #champion #FootLocker pic.twitter.com/DSIzLVzuTq
French police reported hundreds of fires, including more than 200 burned vehicles.
Clashes between fans and law enforcement officers later broke out. The police used tear gas and water cannons, and rioters fired firecrackers at the police.
At least 22 security forces personnel and seven firefighters were injured.
Politicians, mark my words. We won't forget, and we won't forgive the chaos you've unleashed on Europe's streets. #paris pic.twitter.com/dOKEYlXJYq
— Nigel Nelson (@nnelsonni) May 31, 2025
En seulement un soir on peut voir toute la dégénérescence française, les animaux qui sont dans nos rues. Ce que vous voyez c'est le résultat de "la tolerance" de la gauche et des bobosLFI, si vous faites encore barrage au RN en 2027 vous êtes des abrutis. #ChampsElysees #Paris pic.twitter.com/9enMLaBjpa
— Shigise (@shigise_) June 1, 2025
According to preliminary information from the French Ministry of the Interior, 559 people were arrested, including 491 in Paris.
Two people were also killed and 192 injured. One of the dead was a 17-year-old boy in the town of Dax, who died from a knife wound in the city center, where a crowd was celebrating the Champions League victory. A second man died in Paris on a scooter.
- On May 14, 2024, gunmen in balaclavas ambushed a prison van in northern France and freed drug trafficker Mohamed Amr, known as Mucha. They killed two guards and seriously wounded three others. Police are searching for them.
- On April 15, 2025, it was reported that unknown individuals attacked several prisons in different cities in France.
- In France, on April 28, the alleged perpetrators of attacks on prisons and their staff in various regions of the country over the past two weeks were detained .
