There have been 20 injuries, including eight police officers, after rival ultra groups of Paris Saint-Germain and Lyon clashed ahead of tonight’s Coupe de France final.
The incident took place at a toll both on the A1 motorway near Arras, around 40km from the Pierre-Mauroy stadium in Lille, where the final was staged.
Local police have reported that around 100 individuals were involved and that all the injuries were minor, with the incident starting as both sets of ultras pulled up to the toll booth simultaneously. A brawl broke out between the groups, which saw one bus burned and four others damaged, alongside multiple minor injuries.
Bertrand Gaume, security chief for the region, told the media at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy that “there were serious incidents” on the A1 ahead of the match, but these were “put down very quickly by the police”.
Gaume said: “Let’s honour football rather than honour violence. There were dozens of Parisians and Lyonnais in downtown Lille this afternoon, it went very well.”
France’s president Emmanuel Macron, who is in attendance at the final, said: “These are sporting events where you must above all be joyful and sporty. I condemn with the greatest firmness all violence. I hope things will go as normally as possible this evening.”
PSG are the record winners of the competition, France’s version of the FA Cup, with 14 titles to their name but none since 2021, while Lyon are hoping to win their sixth Coupe de France and first in 12 years.
(Photo: Franco Arland/Getty Images)
