Paris Saint-Germain successfully defended their UEFA Champions League title on the night of May 30th, sparking all-night celebrations across France—but the party quickly turned ugly. Riots and violent clashes broke out in multiple cities, drawing sharp condemnation from French President Emmanuel Macron.
Riots erupted in Paris on May 30, local time.
“Unfortunately, for most of last night, we saw unacceptable scenes of violence in Paris and other cities,” Macron said while meeting the PSG squad at the Élysée Palace. The riots, he added, cast a dark shadow over what should have been a moment of national pride.
Macron vowed that the government would not back down. “We don’t want to see this happen again… We’ve had enough. This has to stop,” he declared.
Paris’s mayor also took to social media on May 31, condemning the violence “in the strongest possible terms.”
As the unrest spread, French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin reported that 780 people had been detained and 57 police officers injured in Paris and other areas. Speaking at a news conference, Darmanin said the situation is now largely under control.
