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Gérald Darmanin expressed during the hearing before the Senate committee that the operation deployed at the Stade de France for the final of the European tournament could have been better. This happens after President Emmanuel Macron urged his officials to investigate the events with “total transparency”. Both the person in charge of the Interior portfolio and that of Sports, Amélie Oudéa-Castéra, appeared this Wednesday.
The images that occurred in Saint-Denis last Saturday set off alarms in France and the European continent. The country that is designated to plan major sporting events such as the 2022 Rugby World Cup and the 2024 Olympic Games witnessed a chaotic organization of the Champions League final, culminating in various incidents.
After the planning and deployment of security were overwhelmed by Liverpool fans – some with tickets, others with false tickets and some who took advantage of the confusion to try to enter without a ticket – it was time to investigate what went wrong in the vicinity of the Paris stadium before the clash between Liverpool and Real Madrid.
To that end, the Ministers of the Interior, Gérald Darmanin, and of Sports, Amélie Oudéa-Castéra, appeared before a Senate committee to appear on their vision of what happened.
Both officials spoke before lawmakers Wednesday and answered questions about security and police responses to the incidents.
Darmanin said that “it is obvious that things could have been organized better” at the beginning of the hearing. He also detailed that 15 British citizens were arrested as a result of the conflicts. “We very sincerely regret the sometimes unacceptable excesses that have occurred,” she said.
However, the head of Interior insisted on targeting the English fans, a thesis that has earned him criticism. “It is clear, all the notes from the security services say, that the people of Liverpool pose public order problems. Not all of their supporters, but a small part of their supporters,” he stressed.
At the same time, the minister stressed that there were no deaths or injuries due to the incidents and reported that both Spanish and English fans will be able to file their complaints from their countries as of Monday.
In his turn, Oudéa-Castéra admitted that “we are going to have to improve” the organizational aspect for the future and announced that they will focus on achieving compensation for the 2,700 fans who were left out of the final despite having valid tickets.
But, like his colleague, he questioned the behavior of Liverpool fans and asked to remember that there were similar incidents in the European Championship final at Wembley.
Macron calls for “total transparency” in the investigations
Before the hearing, President Emmanuel Macron said in a meeting with his officials that they must carry out an investigation marked by “full transparency”. “What the president wants is for the light to shine on what really happened, with full transparency and very quickly,” spokeswoman Olivia Grégoire said.
In addition, the spokeswoman added, the head of state “has full confidence” in the Minister of the Interior, Gérald Darmanin, who was left in the eye of the storm for being the officer in charge of the nation’s police force. Amélie Oudéa-Castéra, in charge of the Sports portfolio, was also harshly criticized.
Clashes between security and fans prompted riot police to fire tear gas into the crowd, engulfing families with children and the elderly in smoke.
In dialogue with France Info radio before the session, the head of the Senate committee, Francois-Noël Buffet, expressed that they expected the appearances to be given with “clarity” and, above all, “honesty”. “What we are going to try to find out is: where are the responsibilities and where are the difficulties above all,” he stressed.
These failures in the organization of the Champions League took on national relevance with political overtones taking into account the proximity of the legislative elections that will take place next June.
The opposition and the United Kingdom disbelieve the figures given by the ministers
From the beginning, Darmanin and Oudéa-Castéra blamed Liverpool fans for being the main responsible for the incidents because they were victims of “massive, industrial and organized fraud of counterfeit tickets”.
Darmanin explained that “between 30,000 and 40,000 English fans found themselves at the Stade de France without tickets or forged.” However, these figures presented by the French government were criticized by the national opposition and by British leaders.
On Wednesday, far-right Marine Le Pen called this “a serious lie” and said Darmanin “should consider leaving.” While the MEP of La Francia Insumisa and Jean-Luc Mélenchon’s right-hand man, the leftist Manuel Bompart, expressed that “a minister who lies is bad news and does not bode well for the next five-year term.”
With EFE, Reuters and AFP
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