LEILA FADEL, HOST:
Thousands of police are being deployed around a Paris stadium ahead of the soccer match tonight between the French and Israeli national teams.
STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
This is a high-security match, which is going ahead despite calls for postponement or a change of venue because of antisemitic and anti-Arab violence that took place in Amsterdam last week when an Israeli team from Tel Aviv played there.
FADEL: We go to NPR's Eleanor Beardsley in Paris to find out more. Good morning, Eleanor.
ELEANOR BEARDSLEY, BYLINE: Good morning, Leila.
FADEL: So this game is being described as high risk over the possible tensions between fans. So why are officials going ahead with it?
BEARDSLEY: Well, French officials say they will not back down in the face of antisemitic threats or violence. The French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau said they are able to secure the match, so it will go ahead in the Stade de France just north of Paris. That's where they recently held many Olympic events. Retailleau condemned the attacks against Jewish fans in Amsterdam and said it was a reminder of the worst days of Europe's past, and they would have none of it. Let's listen to him.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
BRUNO RETAILLEAU: (Speaking French) Amsterdam.
BEARDSLEY: He said, "what happened in Amsterdam was a totally uninhibited display of antisemitism, and we can't give an inch in the face of such threats." There were also reports of soccer hooliganism on the part of Israeli fans. They were filmed ripping down Palestinian flags on apartment buildings and chanting death to Arabs.
FADEL: So how will the French secure the stadium?
BEARDSLEY: By deploying 4,000 police - that's four times more than usual - with double layers of security inside and outside the stadium. I was out at the Stade de France yesterday, and they were making a security perimeter with high fences around the stadium. And all the restaurants and bars that usually make a lot of money on game nights told me they'd been ordered to close tonight. You know, Israel has discouraged its citizens from going. And officials say fewer than 13,000 tickets have been sold in a stadium that seats 80,000. So that's basically a policeman for every three people attending.
FADEL: So France has the largest Jewish and Muslim communities in Europe. How do people feel about the war in Gaza after more than a year?
BEARDSLEY: Yeah, well, French officials are very wary of this conflict being imported to French streets. So far, that's been avoided, but antisemitic acts are up. And increasingly, French Jews say they feel like they're being blamed for the war, especially the longer it goes on. Last night, there were demonstrations against a planned visit of a far-right Israeli minister who supports the Israeli settler movement. He didn't come in the end, but the demonstrations went ahead.
UNIDENTIFIED PROTESTERS: (Chanting in French).
BEARDSLEY: One included a group of Jewish - you know, Jewish groups. And some of these people said they had not demonstrated since last October 7 when Hamas attacked Israel, but they said they felt they needed to come out and denounce this never-ending war. They were chanting, we want a cease-fire and a two-state solution now. Elan (ph) was one of the demonstrators. The young woman said she did not feel safe providing her last name for broadcast. Let's listen.
ELAN: (Speaking French).
BEARDSLEY: She said, "we should not confuse the Jews and the government of Benjamin Netanyahu, and that's the problem right now in the West." She said, "we're making Jews feel guilty for Netanyahu's murderous war in Gaza."
FADEL: And what are the team saying?
BEARDSLEY: Well, Israeli fans interviewed this morning on the radio said they felt they had already lost with all the security and fear. Meanwhile, the French coach says, let's try to have a normal match. President Macron will go, he says, to support the French team and in fraternity and solidarity. And two other former French presidents are going. It seems to be a point of national pride that this sporting event goes off peacefully.
FADEL: All right. NPR's Eleanor Beardsley in Paris. Thank you, Eleanor.
BEARDSLEY: Thank you.
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