Paris fears France vs Morocco will cause 'civil war' on Champs-Elysees

A Paris official on Tuesday asked for the Champs-Elysees to be closed for Wednesday's World Cup semi-final clash between France and Morocco, fearing “the world's beautiful avenue” could turn into a “battlefield” with scenes of “civil war” after the high-stakes encounter.

Paris says it will mobilise 2,000 police across the city during the game but Jeanne d'Hauteserre, the local mayor of the 8th arrondissement - where the Champs-Elysees is based - called the number “insufficient”.

On CNews, she said: "When you want to celebrate victory, you don't come with mortars. But these people are really only coming to smash with iron bars.

“For Wednesday, everyone is afraid of a war, a guerrilla war, a civil war, and we do not want the Champs-Elysees to be transformed into a battlefield.”

After Morocco's shock victory over Portugal in the quarter-finals of the competition in Qatar, around 20,000 fans descended onto Paris' Champs-Elysees.

While the ambiance was mainly festive, later that night, sporadic clashes broke out between troublemakers and police who fired tear gas and charged several times. Several shops were damaged, cars were set on fire and there were 100 arrests.

The incidents prompted concerns of more serious unrest in Paris and other major cities after the France-Morocco clash.

France's Moroccan community numbers around 1.5 million, half of whom are dual nationals. While many say they are torn between supporting France and Morocco, a former French protectorate, thousands are rooting for the underdogs who are the first side from an African or Arab nation to reach this stage of the competition.

While the Champs-Elysees has traditionally become a focal point for festivities after major football matches and other sports victories, the mayor of the 8th arrondissement said it would be prudent to shut the avenue that joins the Place de la Concorde and the Arc de Triomphe down - a measure she said that was already taken “at New Year's Eve” to avoid violence and vandalism.

“The only way is to create a perimeter and whatever happens from 8pm there should be no more access,” she told France Bleu.

It was essential to “avoid moments of panic because that is where most accidents occur”, she said, recalling a tragic incident on the night of France's World Cup victory of 1998 in which a woman in a car panicked and drove into revellers, killing two and injuring 150 on the avenue. “It is to avoid this and to avoid vandals with firework rockets,” she said.

Also speaking on CNews, Herve Moreau, a reservist gendarmerie captain, warned: “On Wednesday, things will go badly for sure. Whatever people say, I can assure you there will be clashes and riots.”

But speaking on the same channel, Franco-Moroccan essayist Naima M'Fadel reminded viewers that in France, scuffles between troublemakers and the police are the bane of almost every demonstration, union or otherwise. “Such violent acts are carried out by a minority of thugs. Justice must be firm against these thugs who cast anathema on the majority who celebrated Morocco's victory in good spirits and fraternity,” she said.

Socialist Paris region councillor Julien Dray, who was present on the Champs on Saturday night, said Morocco fans should not be singled out as most came to celebrate and were just as “sad” as everyone else about troublemakers. “These vandals don't support France or Morocco. They're just violent individuals who only come for a fight,” he said.