One dead and 780 arrested in "Paris riots."
About 780 people were arrested in Paris following riots and tensions with security forces that accompanied Paris Saint-Germain's victory in the UEFA Champions League on Saturday.
The Paris public prosecutor's office also reported the death of a young man due to a motocross motorcycle accident on the capital's ring road, and reported that another person was seriously injured as a result of a knife attack within the city, where his condition was described as critical.
Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said during a press conference around 1:30 AM on Sunday: "There were celebratory displays marred by some excesses, which aligns with the situation we had anticipated, and thus we prepared for it." He announced "416 arrests, of which 283 were in the greater Paris area alone."
He emphasized, saying: "These excesses are absolutely unacceptable."
Later, Nunez announced that the number of arrests had risen to 780, representing a 32% increase compared to the celebrations that followed PSG's victory in the continental competition last year.
The head of the Bouffon area also noted that seven police officers were injured, one of them seriously in the city of Agen due to a head injury, during excesses that occurred in about 15 cities across the country, particularly looting in Rennes, Strasbourg, Clermont-Ferrand, and Grenoble.
In Reims, the city's mayor, Arnaud Robinet, posted a brief message on Facebook, mentioning "a few arrests."
The Paris police prefecture earlier announced the seizure of 24 flares and about a hundred fireworks projectiles. Six vehicles and two stores, a bakery and a restaurant at the Saint-Clou gate, were also damaged. A journalist from AFP noted continuous fireworks being launched and young people climbing onto a fire truck.
The minister also clarified that "four attempts to close the ring road led to very quick interventions from security forces that systematically reopened it."
Projectiles were also thrown at security forces near the Champs-Élysées, where between four to five thousand people gathered during the match, before thousands more flocked to the area after its conclusion, according to the police prefecture.
In the eighth district, individuals attempted to attack a police station before being dispersed.
A security source confirmed to AFP that a person was injured with a knife in the Barbès neighborhood, and a man who was intoxicated fell into the Seine River in the fifth district.
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