A group of supporters also stormed the Paris ring road, the peripherique, bringing traffic to a halt for a time and letting off flares, an AFP photographer said.
As fans celebrated the dramatic penalty shootout victory in the Hungarian capital, Budapest, some 20,000 people converged on Paris’ iconic Champs-Elysees avenue, police said.
Shops boarded up their windows before the match to avoid a repeat of disturbances last year when youths ransacked shops on the Champs-Elysees and other streets. Hundreds of people were arrested.
Two dozen flares and about 100 fireworks were seized today, while a bus shelter was destroyed near the Champs-Elysees.
The match also came on a hectic evening in Paris, with singer Aya Nakamura performing at the Stade de France national stadium, rapper Damso at the La Defense Arena and the French Open tennis Grand Slam tournament in full swing.
Police said a bakery and a restaurant were damaged near PSG’s Parc des Princes stadium, where tens of thousands gathered inside to watch the match but 4000 to 5000 people loitered outside with projectiles that were thrown at officers.
About 150 people “attempted to enter through one of the gates” at the stadium but police pushed them back, police said.
Some also attempted to erect a barricade with rental bikes, which was cleared by police.
An AFP reporter at the scene said clashes broke out between police and supporters near the stadium, and officers responded with tear gas when fireworks were thrown at them.
‘Only in France’
The scenes angered the French far right, with three-time presidential candidate Marine Le Pen writing on X that “only in France does a football club’s victory spark riots”.
“Only in France does everyone feel compelled to lock themselves in their homes on the evening of a victory to avoid being confronted with violence,” she added.
Nunez said there was a “very robust, very solid system in place” to curb violence.
“Our responsibility is to guarantee everyone a festive celebration that is calm and fully secure,” police said.
The players will take part in a parade on Sunday afternoon (local time) on the Champs-de-Mars in front of the Eiffel Tower with some 100,000 people expected, before being received by President Emmanuel Macron at the Elysee Palace.
– AFP