Paris will experience a day of maximum tension this Thursday night on the occasion of the 2026 World Cup quarterfinal match between France and Morocco. Both teams see themselves with the possibility of overcoming their rival and reaching the semi-finals, thus facing the winner of Spain – Belgium.
However, the excitement and nerves will not only be experienced on the field of play, as the French authorities fear that the celebrations or incidents will spill over to the streets of the capital. They have arranged an extensive security operation that includes closed metro stations, surveillance drones and specific limitations on the Champs-Élysées.
It is worth remembering that Paris is home to the second largest community of citizens originating from the Maghreb country.
The Police Prefecture considers the match high risk due, in part, to the large Moroccan resident community, but above all to the precedent of 2022, when both teams met in the semifinals of the World Cup in Qatar. That night, with a defeat for ‘The Atlas Lions’, more than 260 arrests were recorded throughout France, of which 167 took place in Paris, after various altercations between fans and clashes with security forces.
Preventive measures
The special operation will come into operation before the start of the match, around 9:00 p.m. The Police have authorized the use of drones to monitor the main areas of fan concentration from the air and quickly detect any incident. In addition, the use of pyrotechnic material and fireworks will be prohibited during the night.
One of the most monitored points will be the Champs-Elysées avenue, the usual scene of major sporting celebrations and also of some of the riots recorded after PSG won the Champions League. Several merchants have decided to protect their establishments with panels to avoid possible looting or vandalism.
To reduce crowding, the authorities have also ordered the closure of several metro stations near the Champs-Elysées. These include several alterations to the schedules close to the game on lines 1, 2, 6, 8, 9, 12, 13 and 14, with the aim of making it difficult for mass gatherings of fans before and after the game.
The decision to reinforce security responds both to the precedent of France – Morocco in Qatar 2022 and to the recent incidents recorded in Paris during the Paris Saint-Germain celebrations. The Prefecture remembers that in recent months there have been important altercations linked to football events, which is why it considers it necessary to deploy an extraordinary device to prevent a night of football from ending in violence again.
The match, which will decide one of the semifinalists of the 2026 World Cup, will once again pit two teams whose sporting rivalry has a strong social and emotional charge in France. The case of Bouaddi also stands out, one of the revelations of the Moroccan national team and until recently captain of the French youth teams.
Adding to all the tension related to the meeting, the authorities have chosen to take extreme precautions so that the result is celebrated, or assumed, without the capital once again being the scene of riots.
