PSG Victory in the Champions League: Between Scenes of Jubilation and Excesses

"It's like the game is happening at home." Even without players on the pitch, the Parc des Princes resonated on Sunday evening, May 31, as it does for the most beautiful matches, roaring with each of the five goals scored by the Parisians, who put on an undisputed display against Inter Milan (5-0) for their first Champions League title in their history.

48,000 tickets were put on sale for the occasion to enjoy the final on four giant screens at center circle. Every close-up of distressed Italian fans was celebrated almost as if it were a goal, while Désiré Doué, the match's hero with his brace, received a long ovation upon his exit.

A PSG supporter for over 20 years, Clément, wearing a Dembélé jersey, exults: "It's so good! And so deserved! We have a song that talks about struggles and battles, it hasn't always been easy. But we found faith again this year with a team without a star. It's 11 guys who play for each other . " "I expected to be racing the whole match and in the end we won it from the start. What a demonstration!" enthuses Simon, wearing a PSG jersey from 1992, the year he was born, on his back.

As soon as the final whistle blew, a sound and light show with flames illuminated the pitch while a few kilometers further on, the Eiffel Tower shone brightly in the Parisian colors. But outside, the supporters gathered in particular on the Champs-Élysées, closed to cars for the occasion, and on the Place du Trocadéro, celebrated the coronation much earlier, with loud blasts of firecrackers, songs and honking horns.

"It's huge to be here tonight, it's historic! The Champs-Elysées is the only place in Paris! I watched the match on my phone with them [his three friends, editor's note]. We're here for the atmosphere and we're going to celebrate until they push us out," says Amine, 19, who came from the outskirts of Paris.

Romain, 48, went to the Champs-Élysées with his partner. "We live in the west of Paris, we walked 30 minutes to get here. When France wins, we go to the Champs-Élysées. We came in 2018, I was there in 1998... we'd been waiting for Paris to win for so long," he says. "However, the atmosphere is a bit strange, we were expecting chants..." he points out a few seconds later, after a crowd rumble.

The demonstrations of joy were not without their share of violence: the 5,400 police officers and gendarmes deployed for the evening in Paris and its surrounding area used water cannons on the Champs-Élysées and had to evacuate supporters who had descended on the ring road even though the match was still being played.

There were more than 500 arrests—559, including 491 in Paris—leading to 320 police custody cases, including 254 in Paris, according to the Interior Ministry. In Paris, in the 15th arrondissement, a woman riding a scooter was hit by a car and died from her injuries.

In Dax, a 17-year-old boy was stabbed to death on the night of Saturday to Sunday "during the celebrations" of Paris Saint-Germain's European victory and the perpetrator is "on the run" , we learned from the prosecutor's office. "A 17-year-old minor died during the night from his injuries at Dax hospital" , declared the duty magistrate, confirming information from the daily Sud Ouest . "It happened during the PSG celebrations but the link, like whether it was supporters, is not confirmable at this stage."

Elsewhere in Grenoble, a motorist injured four members of the same family by accidentally driving into a crowd during the celebrations, according to the prefecture. He has been taken into custody.

A parade is planned for Sunday to present the trophy. The Parisian team will also be received by President Emmanuel Macron at the Élysée Palace on Sunday.

In Marseille, even though they were "disgusted" by the victory of their hated Parisian rivals, football fans acknowledged that PSG "deserved" the trophy... which OM, the city's team, had won 32 years ago. "We were the first to have the star on our jersey, and no one will take that away from us," boasted Walid, wearing an OM jersey and arriving long before kick-off to reserve a table in front of the screens.

"We're breathless. We don't know what to say... Only (the rapper) Jul can console the people of Marseille," says his friend Benoît, looking dejected. "It wasn't the Parisians who won it, it was Qatar!" , to which the club belongs, rages their neighbor Samir.