The recent events between fans of Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv in Amsterdam have put Europe on alert, while the world is going through moments of high tension due to the war between Israel and Gaza. In response to this, France Insoumise (LFI), the main left-wing party in that country, called on Tuesday for the cancellation of the football match between France and Israel on Thursday due to security risks.
The president of the LFI group in the National Assembly, Mathilde Panot, justified this request because "the risk of incidents is very high," after violent incidents occurred just five days earlier with some Israeli fans of Maccabi who had traveled to Amsterdam for a match against Ajax in the Europa League.
The Thursday match, part of the group stage of the Nations League, is scheduled to be played at the Stade de France in Saint Denis amid significant security measures (including 4,000 police officers mobilized) and with the attendance of President Emmanuel Macron.
The LFI, the third largest party in terms of number of deputies in the National Assembly and which attracts a good part of the Muslim vote in France, has been particularly critical of Israel since the attacks by the Islamist militia of Hamas on October 7, 2023, and the Israeli response to them.
The conflict in Gaza, and later in Lebanon, has increased political tension in France, a country that has the largest Jewish community in Europe (almost 800,000 people), while its Muslim population is also the highest on the continent (around 5.5 million, 8% of the population).
What have the players said about a possible cancellation of this match?
Two of the players called up for France's match on Thursday, goalkeeper Lucas Chevalier and defender Dayot Upamecano, were asked on Tuesday during a press conference whether the match should take place or not.
“I can understand why some fans do not want to come (...) It doesn’t matter where we are from or what our religion is, we want peace,” said the Bayern Munich defender, who avoided commenting on whether the match should be held or not.
Chevalier, the goalkeeper of Lille who is making his debut at 23 years old in a call-up to the senior national team, said they will try to play as "if it were a normal match."
So far, only about 20,000 tickets have been sold for a stadium with a capacity of 80,000 spectators, but no official entity has spoken out about canceling the game.