Some soccer fans attending the European Nations League match in Paris between France and Israel whistled and booed as the Israeli anthem blared at the start of the match.

Thursday’s match took place in front of a small crowd and tight security, a week after violence in Amsterdam between pro-Palestinian protesters and visiting Israeli fans.

Despite fears of a repeat of the Amsterdam violence, there were only a few brief scuffles in the stands during the first half of the match, which ended in a 0-0 draw.

President Emmanuel Macron – who attended the match with Prime Minister Michel Barnier – said beforehand that France would not give in to anti-Semitism.

Thousands of police officers were deployed to provide security at the Stade de France in the northern suburbs of Paris and on public transport, while an elite counter-terrorism police unit protected the visiting Israeli team.

A journalist from the French news agency AFP saw stewards intervene to end clashes in the stands between rival supporters.

According to the Reuters news agency, around 100 Israeli fans defied their government’s travel warnings and sat in a corner of the 80,000-seat stadium, which was barely a fifth full.

Waving yellow balloons, they chanted “Free the hostages”, in reference to Israelis detained in Gaza by Hamas militants, the agency reports.

Before the match, several hundred demonstrators gathered in a square near the stadium to wave Palestinian, Lebanese and Algerian flags in protest against the war in Gaza.

“We are not playing with genocide,” read one banner.

Israel has denied the genocide allegations as baseless and grossly distorted.

He launched a campaign to destroy Hamas in response to the group’s unprecedented attack on southern Israel on October 7 last year, in which around 1,200 people were killed and another 251 taken captive. hostage.

Since then, more than 43,700 people have been killed in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry.

Politicians across Europe have denounced a “return of anti-Semitism” after Israeli fans chased through the streets of Amsterdam.

Maccabi fans were themselves involved in acts of vandalism, tearing down a Palestinian flag, attacking a taxi and chanting anti-Arab slogans, according to city authorities. They were then targeted by “small groups of rioters…on foot, on scooters or in cars,” the city said in a 12-page report.

Violence between Israel and its Middle Eastern neighbors risks spreading to Europe.

France, Belgium and the Netherlands all have large Muslim populations of North African origin and live alongside much smaller Jewish populations, most of which identify strongly with Israel.

To express solidarity with European Jews after Amsterdam, President Emmanuel Macron attended Thursday’s match alongside Prime Minister Michel Barnier and former presidents François Hollande and Nicolas Sarkozy.

Supporters have been told to expect ID checks before the match, while bars and restaurants in the area have been asked to close from the afternoon.

The Stade de France was the scene of a dangerous breakdown of law and order during a UEFA Champions League final between Liverpool and Real Madrid in 2022. But since then, the Rugby World Cup and the The Paris Olympic Games are taking place there peacefully.

The far-left France Insoumise (LFI) party – which sides with the Palestinians and Lebanese in conflicts with Israel – called for Thursday’s match to be canceled, or at least for Macron to refuse to attend. to assist.

“We do not want our head of state to honor a country which is committing genocide,” declared LFI deputy David Guiraud.

But Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau said canceling or moving the match was out of the question. “France does not give in to those who sow hatred,” he declared.

France and Israel are in the same group in the UEFA competition, alongside Italy and Belgium. In the first leg – played in Budapest – France beat Israel 4-1.

Pre-match tensions were already visible on the eve of the match after a pro-Israeli “gala” was given in Paris, which Israeli far-right minister Bezalel Smotrich was expected to attend at one point – although it was later thought that his “presence” would be via video link.

Several thousand pro-Palestinian and anti-racist organizations also organized protests in the capital to coincide with the event. Clashes broke out and police used tear gas as protesters targeted a McDonald’s on Boulevard Montmartre.

Relations between Macron and Benyamin Netanyahu have been strained in recent weeks, after Macron accused the Israeli prime minister of “spreading barbarity” in Gaza and Lebanon.

French Jews were also upset when Macron said Netanyahu should accept U.N. calls for a ceasefire because “his country was itself created by a U.N. decision.” This was interpreted in Israel as an insult to the Jews who lost their lives in their country’s war for independence.

France, in turn, was angry when two French officials were briefly detained by Israeli authorities at a holy site in French-administered East Jerusalem.

Macron has been described as pursuing a zigzag approach in his approach to the Middle East, as in many other areas, oscillating inconsistently between outspoken statements of support for Israel and its Arab neighbors.