FRANCE is bracing for further riots ahead of the World Cup final, with 14,000 cops deployed across the country.
Officials in Paris have requested the Champs-Elysees be shut down ahead of the Les Bleus final clash against Argentina on Sunday.
The measures are taken amid fears of “civil war scenes” following the riots that broke out after the country’s victory over Morocco that saw a 14-year-old boy killed in Montpellier.
The French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin has announced security has been increased in the country for this weekend, with 12,800 cops expected to be deployed on Saturday and another 14,000 on Sunday.
French authorities have called for the iconic Champs-Elysees to be shut down ahead of Sunday’s match.
The avenue will be closed to traffic on Sunday and 2,750 officers will be stationed in the vicinity.
read more on world cup
Previously local mayor responsible for the Parisian district Jeanne d’Hauteserre expressed concern over the avenue and called for it to be closed before Wednesday’s game.
She told French CNews: “When you want to celebrate victory, you don’t come with mortars. But these people are really only coming to smash with iron bars.
“For Wednesday, everyone is afraid of a war, a guerrilla war, a civil war, and we do not want the Champs-Elysees to be transformed into a battlefield.”
Even though 10,000 police were mobilised including 5,000 in Paris, violent clashes erupted with shocking footage showing chaotic scenes.
Most read in Football
Shocking footage shows a group trying to get the flag as they walked down Rue de la Mosson when suddenly the driver makes a U-turn, smashing into a teenager before driving off.
Around 115 people were arrested in total as police fired teargas to disperse the crowd.
Riot cops were also blasted by fireworks in the French city of Lyon, while clashes broke out between fans in Nice, and chaos also erupted on the streets of Bordeaux.
In Brussels, police deployed tear gas and water cannons after scuffles broke out and fans set fires in the street and threw fireworks.
And last week, more than 20,000 adrenaline-fuelled fans flooded the avenue and caused chaos after Morocco’s stunning victory over Portugal.
Sporadic clashes broke out between hooligans and police who fired tear gas and charged several times.
Several shops were damaged, cars were set on fire and there were 100 arrests.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
