Camille Naredo

Paris Saint-Germain's Spanish head coach Luis Enrique lifts the trophy as he celebrates with his players after winning the UEFA Champions League final football match between Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) and Arsenal FC at the Puskas Arena in Budapest on May 30, 2026. Franck Fife, AFP

Paris Saint-Germain's Spanish head coach Luis Enrique lifts the trophy as he celebrates with his players after winning the UEFA Champions League final football match between Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) and Arsenal FC at the Puskas Arena in Budapest on May 30, 2026. (Photo by FRANCK FIFE / AFP)

Article (news)

UEFA Champions League

<p>PARIS, France -- The French capital laid out a red, white and blue carpet Sunday for Paris Saint-Germain players to mark their second straight Champions League title, amid bitter recriminations after hundreds of people were arrested and dozens of police hurt in a night of unrest.</p><p>Tens of thousands of flag-waving fans took to the streets again to see the team parade from Paris Charles de Gaulle airport to the Champ-de-Mars plaza in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower.</p><p>The team flew back from Budapest where they beat English Premier League champions Arsenal on Saturday night 4-3 in a penalty shoot-out.</p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/sports/othersports/2026/5/31/psg-edge-arsenal-on-penalties-to-retain-champions-league-title-1753">READ: PSG edge Arsenal on penalties to retain Champions League title</a></div><p>They were also received by President Emmanuel Macron before returning to their Parc des Princes stadium for a final encounter with more than 40,000 fans, bringing to a close a day of festivities.</p><p>The previous night of celebrations was blighted however by clashes between youths and police in Paris and other cities, cars set on fire and shops looted.</p><p>One man died riding his motorbike around the Paris ring road in celebration while authorities reported stabbings and other attacks. They said 57 police and 219 &quot;participants&quot; were injured. Eight of the injured were in critical condition.</p><p>Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said there were 780 arrests across France, nearly a third more than when PSG&#x27;s triumph last year over Inter Milan also set off a night of disturbances. He said looting had taken place in around 15 cities across the country.</p><p>Municipal workers hurried Sunday morning to clear the Paris streets of broken glass, wrecked bus shelters, trash cans and burned out cars and bikes before PSG&#x27;s return.</p><p>French President Emmanuel Macron called the violence &quot;unspeakable&quot;.</p><p>He said PSG were an &quot;immense pride&quot; for France but said the country was &quot;fed up&quot; with the violence. &quot;We will be ruthless with those who have been caught,&quot; he vowed.</p><p>Amid political recriminations over the troubles, Paris mayor Emmanuel Gregoire played down the severity, saying such incidents were nothing new.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>- &#x27;Brainless thugs&#x27; -</strong></div><p>&quot;In the vast majority of cases, people celebrated with family and friends. And it was an extraordinary celebration,&quot; the mayor told BFM TV. &quot;And incidents on the fringes of major events have been going on for centuries.&quot;</p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/sports/2026/5/31/-this-is-even-bigger-says-luis-enrique-as-psg-retain-champions-league-0858">READ: &#x27;This is even bigger&#x27;, says Luis Enrique as PSG retain Champions League</a></div><p>Gregoire blamed the &quot;media coverage&quot; of the unrest &quot;and perhaps also the obsession of these troublemakers who come to cause trouble and show themselves on social media&quot;.</p><p>The town hall for the Paris district that includes the Champs-Elysee, where tens of thousands went after the football victory, called for a ban on such gatherings.</p><p>On Saturday night, the &quot;Champs-Elysees avenue and its surroundings ceased to be a place of celebration and became an arena of urban guerrilla warfare&quot;, the town hall said in a statement.</p><p>Politicians from all sides lambasted the troubles and questioned the way it was handled.</p><p>Far-right figurehead Marine Le Pen wrote on X that &quot;only in France does a football club&#x27;s victory spark riots&quot;.</p><p>Valerie Pecresse, the head of the greater Paris council from the Republicans party, slammed &quot;the brainless thugs who allow themselves to destroy everything, tarnishing the image of Paris and France!&quot;.</p><p>A spokesperson for the hard-left France Unbowed said: &quot;We cannot be satisfied with the way last night&#x27;s event was managed and organized by the government.&quot;</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>- Riding high -</strong></div><div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1780296602525AFP__20260530__B4HP2EE__v2__MidRes__TopshotFblEurC1PsgArsenalFinal.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960" alt="Paris Saint-Germain&#x27;s Spanish head coach Luis Enrique lifts the trophy as he celebrates with his players after winning the UEFA Champions League final football match between Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) and Arsenal FC at the Puskas Arena in Budapest on May 30, 2026. Franck Fife, AFP"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Paris Saint-Germain&#x27;s Spanish head coach Luis Enrique lifts the trophy as he celebrates with his players after winning the UEFA Champions League final football match between Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) and Arsenal FC at the Puskas Arena in Budapest on May 30, 2026. <em>Franck Fife, AFP</em></span></span></span></div><p>Nunez promised &quot;strongarm&quot; security for Sunday&#x27;s celebrations and some 6,000 police were on duty across central Paris.</p><p>&quot;We&#x27;re still riding yesterday&#x27;s high, so we want to keep the party going,&quot; said 25-year-old Abou, a PSG fan &quot;since he was little&quot;.</p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/sports/othersports/2026/6/1/arsenal-set-aside-loss-to-psg-with-bus-parade-celebrating-premier-league-crown-0057">READ: Arsenal set aside loss to PSG with bus parade celebrating Premier League crown</a></div><p>&quot;Paris, Paris&quot; chanted supporters wearing the team colors and carrying flags, as they filtered through security checkpoints to get near a stage where the players appeared. The &quot;We Are the Champions&quot; pop song blared out on speakers.</p><p>PSG captain Marquinhos and striker Ousmane Dembele were among the most applauded as they lifted the trophy before the adoring crowds. &quot;We will be back next year for the third,&quot; said Dembele.</p><p>But PSG&#x27;s Qatari president Nasser Al-Khelaifi appealed to the crowd: &quot;Please celebrate calmly today. We must protect our city.&quot;</p><p>The streets were so packed that the team arrived more than an hour late at the Champs-de-Mars, where they paraded on a red, white and blue tricolor carpet to the stage.</p><p>&quot;It was great, there was the stress of the penalty shootout but it was good stress in the end,&quot; said Mirna Makima, a 39-year-old physiotherapist who travelled from Belgium for the celebrations.</p>

<p>The French capital laid out a red, white and blue carpet Sunday for Paris Saint-Germain players to mark their second straight Champions League title, amid bitter recriminations after hundreds of people were arrested and dozens of police hurt in a night of unrest.</p>

The French capital laid out a red, white and blue carpet Sunday for Paris Saint-Germain players to mark their second straight Champions League title, amid bitter recriminations after hundreds of people were arrested and dozens of police hurt in a night of unrest.

Paris celebrates football triumph amid riot recriminations

News

Entertainment

Lifestyle

Sports

Metro.Style

More

Sudoku

Word of the Day

Lotto

Horoscope

Sports

Paris celebrates football triumph amid riot recriminations

Antoine Boyer,

Laurie Veyrier and Sylvie Maligorne,

Agence France-Presse

Published June 01, 2026 03:22 PM PHT

Read More:

Paris

France

Paris Saint-Germain

Arsenal

UEFA Champions League

ABS-CBN is the leading media and entertainment company in the Philippines, offering quality content across TV, radio, digital, and film. Committed to public service and promoting Filipino values, ABS-CBN continues to inspire and connect audiences worldwide.

Corporate

Investors

Governance

International Distribution

Corporate

Governance

Investors

International Distribution

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

AI Policy

Terms of Service

Advertise with Us

© 2026 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

Terms of Service

AI Policy

Advertise with Us

© 2026 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

Terms of Service

AI Policy

Advertise with Us

© 2026 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.