PARIS, France.– The highly anticipated quarter-final match between France and Morocco for the 2026 World Cup has been classified by French authorities as a “high-risk” game, which has led the Government to implement an extensive security operation in Paris and other cities across the country.
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Although the match will be played on U.S. soil, about 5,500 kilometers from the French capital, authorities fear a repeat of the riots recorded after the duel between both national teams in the semifinals of the 2022 Qatar World Cup.
To avoid incidents, the Ministry of the Interior will deploy up to 20,000 police officers and gendarmes throughout French territory, of which 8,000 will be concentrated in Paris, where a large influx of fans is expected.
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According to an intelligence report cited by French media, the match poses a high risk as it is a knockout tie with a spot in the semifinals at stake. Authorities also anticipate massive gatherings in the streets and the potential use of pyrotechnics, regardless of the outcome.
The memory of the 2022 incidents
The Government’s concern has its main precedent in what happened in December 2022, when France defeated Morocco 2-0 in the semifinals of the Qatar World Cup.
That night, some 25,000 people gathered on the Champs-Élysées and other areas of the country, where clashes between fans and law enforcement were reported. In the Paris metropolitan area alone, 167 arrests were made, while nationwide the figure rose to 266.
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The most tragic episode occurred in Montpellier, where a 14-year-old teenager passed away after being struck by a vehicle during the riots.
A match with historical background
Beyond the sporting aspect, the duel between the French and the Moroccans carries significant historical and social weight. Morocco was a French protectorate between 1912 and 1956, and currently, nearly a million people with dual French-Moroccan nationality reside in France, in addition to some 800,000 with exclusively Moroccan nationality.
Given this context, the French Minister of Sports, Marina Ferrari, called for calm and respect between both sets of fans.
The Paris City Council will set up two official fan zones in the city center and has authorized the extension of terrace operating hours until 2:00 a.m., while security forces will remain on high alert throughout the day.
