A clash involving visiting Israeli football fans broke out in the stands at the EUFA Nations League match between France and Israel in Paris, but increased security prevented a repeat of the more serious violence seen in Amsterdam last week. Before the game, businesses were damaged in a pro-Palestine demonstration in the Paris suburbs.
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00:00Football fans in Paris thanked the police after a UEFA Nations League match between
00:08the French and Israeli teams ended safely, despite brewing tensions in the city.
00:134,000 police were on duty inside and outside the 80,000-capacity stadium over fears of
00:18attacks on Israeli fans.
00:20Only a fifth of the venue was filled, with 16,000 people showing up to support their
00:25teams.
00:26Of course, the fear in the Jewish community is understandable by the anti-Semitic acts,
00:31but if we start to lower our heads and not go to football matches because we are afraid,
00:35because we are Jewish, it is a real sign that there is a real problem in France.
00:40The problem may be real, but...
00:42Long live Palestine!
00:44Long live Palestine!
00:46Ahead of the game in a Paris suburb, hundreds of people marched in a pro-Palestinian rally,
00:51this in response to a fundraising gala in the city for the Israeli military.
00:55Protesters calling Israel's war against Hamas a genocide for killing over 40,000 Palestinians
01:00in Gaza.
01:02Many businesses were damaged in the demonstration.
01:04Last week, violence also erupted in Amsterdam, where another Israeli football team played
01:09in the Europa League.
01:10We are the European Union!
01:13Video posted on social media shows a group of men, which the video owner claimed were
01:17Maccabi Tel Aviv fans, running in the street chasing people down after the football match.
01:22Other videos showed Maccabi fans chanting anti-Arab slurs.
01:26Dozens of Israelis who came for the match were injured in clashes in the city.
01:30In response, the city banned demonstrations for three days, the mayor saying she was ashamed
01:35of the attacks.
01:36Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also condemned the attacks, organizing flights
01:41to bring Israeli citizens back home.
01:43But some Muslims living in Amsterdam said fights around sporting events like these are
01:47common.
01:48It's happening everywhere, in the football world, and it's not the first time it's happened
01:55in the Netherlands.
01:56But on social media, on TV, they make fun of it, they make fun of it.
02:05Others said the riots are more about public dissatisfaction with their government's response
02:09to the Israel-Hamas war.
02:11There is absolutely nothing wrong with the Jews, but the problem is with Zionism, and
02:18the fact that the Netherlands is still behind what Israel is doing is unacceptable to us.
02:28But as the war in the Middle East rages on, it will continue to affect communities abroad
02:32too, as people take sides and choose whom to support on and off the pitch.
02:38Andy Hsieh and Tiffany Wong for Taiwan Plus.