PSG vs Barcelona Champions League tie confirmed despite violent protests sweeping France

Tuesday’s Champions League second leg between Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona at the Parc des Princes will go ahead as planned, French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez confirmed following an emergency meeting with senior government officials. The announcement came after a weekend of violent protests and looting swept across France, raising serious questions about whether large public events could safely proceed.

“But this does not apply to tomorrow’s match between PSG and FC Barcelona,” Nuñez said, adding that other European fixtures scheduled for the week — including Lille’s match against Galatasaray in the northern city on Wednesday — would also not be affected.

The unrest has targeted city halls, public buildings and hundreds of businesses across the country. More than 2,000 arrests have been made in connection with the violence, and images of the destruction have drawn widespread international attention. Nuñez acknowledged that authorities had “lost control” in some major cities on Saturday, and offered his resignation on Sunday — only for President Emmanuel Macron to ask him to remain in post to manage the ongoing security emergency.

Macron has since instructed Nuñez “to take all necessary steps to ensure full transparency about the failures in planning and intelligence-gathering that led to the violence.” French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu separately announced that prefects have been instructed to impose “very limited” and “localised” curfews in affected cities to prevent further rioting.

The decision to proceed with the match places significant additional pressure on already stretched police resources. In May, Paris police detained dozens of people after violence broke out during celebrations of PSG’s second successive Champions League title, won on penalties against Arsenal, when a group attempted to storm a police station in the capital.

Authorities have not disclosed the precise scale of the security operation planned for the Parc des Princes, but the combination of a high-profile European fixture and an already volatile public order situation makes Tuesday one of the most logistically demanding nights French law enforcement has faced in recent memory.