A new crackdown by the police against the ultra-right.
And in order to try to avoid excesses linked to the Paris-Saint-Germain match this Wednesday evening.
Twelve PSG supporters “claiming to be ultra-right” were arrested Tuesday evening in Paris by the police who suspected them of wanting to attack fans of the Spanish club Real Sociedad, we learned on Wednesday from a police source and the prosecutor's office, confirming information from Actu Paris.
According to a source close to PSG, however, these were “ex-supporters who were unwanted at the stadium and did not carry tickets”.
A risk of confrontation between the supporters of the two clubs, who face each other on Wednesday evening in the round of 16 first leg of the Football Champions League, had been identified by the intelligence directorate of the police headquarters (DRPP) at the Forum des Halles , in the heart of the capital.
Police officers, notably Brav-M bikers, first spotted around 10:30 p.m. “a group of around fifty Spanish supporters” gathered in a pub in the 1st arrondissement, “in peace”, according to the police source.
Concealed faces and protective gloves
Shortly after, in a street in the 6th arrondissement located a few minutes' walk away, the police checked a group of twelve men.
“These were Parisian supporters claiming to be ultra-right, wearing black neck warmers hiding their faces, shell gloves, pyrotechnic devices,” according to the same source.
“According to the elements reported to the public prosecutor's office, these were several PSG supporters leaving a bar and two of them were carrying balaclavas and smoke bombs,” said the Paris public prosecutor's office.
Read also PSG-Real Sociedad: “An exceptional match, exceptional atmosphere”, the call for mobilization from the CUP
They were arrested and placed in police custody “for participation in a group with a view to committing violence or damage”, it was added.
“At the end of the reports, the prosecutor's office took the decision to refer a person in custody to the prosecutor's delegate for possession of an incendiary device,” said the prosecutor's office.
The eleven other police custody were lifted “on the grounds that no offense was sufficiently serious”, it was added.
An investigation had been opened and entrusted to the judicial night processing service (STJN), concluded the police source.