Hundreds arrested in Paris after PSG Champions League win sparks riots

Paris erupted in chaos Saturday night as hundreds of fans of Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) went on a rampage following the club's Champions League final victory. Police arrested at least 326 people across France, with 235 taken into custody in Paris alone.

The celebrations turned violent after PSG defeated Arsenal 4-3 on penalties in Budapest. Reports indicate riots began earlier when Arsenal took the lead in the penalty shootout. Approximately 20,000 fans flooded the Champs-Elysees, igniting fireworks and flares. Police confiscated hundreds of fireworks and flares, and reported damage to a bakery and restaurant near the Parc des Princes stadium, PSG's home ground.

Rioters constructed barricades from bicycles and briefly blockaded the main ring road around Paris, the Peripherique, before police intervened. The French Interior Ministry reported a "very robust, very solid system in place" to manage the unrest, deploying over 22,000 police officers in the capital. This heavy police presence aimed to prevent a repeat of last year's deadly celebrations, which followed PSG's previous Champions League win and resulted in two deaths and over 500 arrests nationwide.

French far-right politician Marine Le Pen criticized the reaction, stating, "only in France does the victory of a football club spark riots." Le Pen, who faces a ban from political office due to embezzlement charges, is seeking to overturn the ruling for the 2027 presidential race.

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only in France does the victory of the a football club spark riots. Only in France does everyone feel compelled to to lock themselves in their homes on a night of victory to avoid being confronted with violence.