Paris Saint-Germain have been celebrated across France as back-to-back European champions, after a jubilant but turbulent night that saw hundreds of thousands of supporters take to the streets — and hundreds detained following violent clashes in Paris and other French cities.
PSG claimed their second consecutive UEFA Champions League title on Saturday, 30 May, beating English club Arsenal in a penalty shootout in Budapest, Hungary, after the match ended 1-1 following extra time. The dramatic victory triggered an immediate outpouring of celebration in Paris, with around 20,000 fans flooding the Champs-Élysées near the Arc de Triomphe, setting off flares and blaring car horns into the night. The following afternoon, up to 100,000 supporters gathered at the Champ de Mars, the large public greenspace in front of the Eiffel Tower, for an official celebration event. Captain Marquinhos, head coach Luis Enrique, and club president Nasser Al-Khelaifi led the players as they lifted the trophy to thunderous applause, before a trophy parade took the team from the Champ de Mars to the club's home ground, the Parc des Princes in western Paris, where 48,000 fans packed the stadium. The squad was also received by French President Emmanuel Macron at the Élysée Palace.
The celebrations, however, were accompanied by significant disorder overnight. Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said 780 people were detained across France — 480 in the Paris area alone — and 57 police officers were wounded, most with minor injuries. Incidents were reported in around 15 cities, with shops vandalized and fires set to rubbish bins, bicycles, and cars. In one serious incident, a driver lost control of a vehicle that crashed into a restaurant terrace, leaving two people injured, one critically. Nuñez said the situation was "largely brought under control" by Sunday and warned that any further violence would be met with "firmness and determination." Paris prosecutors confirmed that 306 people had been formally placed in custody, including 81 minors, on charges ranging from assaulting police officers to theft and vandalism.
Paris mayor Emmanuel Grégoire condemned the violence "in the strongest possible terms" while noting that "the vast majority of Parisians celebrated with joy, unity, and respect." The scale of unrest, though significant, was comparable to — and in some respects slightly worse than — the disorder that followed PSG's first Champions League triumph in May 2025, when more than 500 arrests were made and 201 people were injured in the capital.
The incidents raise familiar questions about crowd management during major sporting victories in France, even as the club and its millions of supporters savour a historic achievement: consecutive European titles for a club that has long sought to establish itself among the continent's elite.