The administrative court decided, a few hours before the kick-off of the final of the French Football Cup, to suspend the ban on a rally in front of the Stade de France, organized by the inter-union of Seine-Saint- Denis against pension reform but banned by the prefecture. Union activists began at the end of the day to distribute whistles and leaflets bearing a red card, which they want to see brandished against Emmanuel Macron - the President of the Republic is due to attend the Toulouse-Nantes meeting on Saturday evening .
The unions had filed, on Friday, a request for interim release against the decree issued by the prefect of Paris, Laurent Nuñez, who had estimated that a risk of disturbance to public order existed and that the rally would add a "flux" unwelcome people around the stadium, already crowded at the time of the match. "There is no infringement of freedom of expression," he argued on Saturday morning on BFMTV-RMC. Mr Nuñez recalled that the use of whistles in the stands is prohibited by the French Football Federation (so as not to disturb the refereeing) and that these whistles should be removed during the search, which could slow down the entry of spectators.
The prefect of police did not provide "sufficient elements concerning the risks of disturbances to public order or specific difficulties in his missions of maintaining order", in the face of demonstrators who had only announced a "simple distribution of leaflets against the pension reform by a limited number of people", underlined the court, in its decision consulted by Agence France-Presse (AFP).
"The inter-union 1, Emmanuel Macron 0"
The unions and the Human Rights League, which had taken legal action alongside the unions, are therefore "founded in arguing that the prefect of police has carried out a serious and manifestly illegal attack on the freedom to demonstrate", added the court, which consequently suspended the decree of Laurent Nuñez.
The prefect "takes note of the ordinance", reacted the Prefecture of police to AFP, specifying that it had planned "in any case a suitable device to ensure calm access for spectators to the stadium".
"Intersyndicale 1, Emmanuel Macron 0", commented in a press release the applicants, who see in this decision "a victory for the respect of freedoms". "The trade unions will thus be able to act within the framework of their freedom of expression and to meet the public of the Stade de France, to distribute their material", continues the press release.
Saturday evening at 9 p.m., 78,000 spectators are expected, including tens of thousands of supporters of both teams. The surprise poster between these two formations of the second part of the table in the league is surrounded by a heavy extra-sporting context, almost a year after the Champions League final between Liverpool and Real Madrid in the same stadium, which had turned to the organizational and security fiasco.
In addition, the confirmed presence of Emmanuel Macron stirs up social protest movements. However, the Head of State will greet the players of the teams "at the access to the field" of the Stade de France, informed his entourage. "While whistles are part of a certain folklore at the Stade de France, the President of the Republic has always respected the tradition of saluting players which he reinstated [in 2017] and will therefore greet players before they enter the stadium. lawn,” the same source said.
The French president will not, however, hand over the cup to the winner on the lawn. The prefect of police, Laurent Nuñez, clarified Friday evening that he himself "imposed" that the trophy be awarded to the winner "in the gallery", in particular because of the risk of invasion of the field.
"The final of the Coupe de France is not Roman-style circus games, it is not the CGT with its imperial thumb that could decide who to boo the President of the Republic, who to cut off the electricity during a match", had previously estimated the spokesman of the government, Olivier Véran, on BFM-TV and RMC, calling to "not to confuse everything".
"I do not believe that there was a risk to public order when we are simply in the distribution of cards and whistles", commented for his part, Saturday morning on BFM-TV, Cyril Chabanier, president of the CFTC. "We are on something that is totally disproportionate", also considered the socialist deputy of Calvados Arthur Delaporte, on the same antenna.
The broadcast of the final will be "faithful" to what will happen in the stadium, France Télévisions assured Saturday, after fears expressed by the CGT concerning "live censorship" in the event of whistles against Emmanuel Macron. "France Télévisions is doing its job," the group told AFP.
Emmanuel Macron's entourage also deplored "the desire of certain political and union leaders to orchestrate an event aimed at diverting the attention of the evening either from the players, the match, the cup, sportsmanship and festive but about a political fight". In its last press release, the inter-union announced that the time was "for extensions until the withdrawal of the Macron reform on [the] pensions is obtained! ". Concluding the text with: "All and all together on May 1st".
Historic meeting
Some 3,000 police and gendarmes will be mobilized. A device "50% more important", according to the entourage of the Minister of the Interior, than that mobilized on May 28, 2022 for the Champions League final, the last meeting between clubs disputed in this stadium located north of Paris. Nantes won the Cup only four times, and Toulouse only once, in 1957, in the red and white jersey of a club that disappeared in 1967, then recreated from scratch in 1970. In addition to a prestigious trophy , a victory in this 106th edition would give them a ticket to the Europa League next season.
The match promises to be noisy in the stands, with tens of thousands of fans expected on both sides. According to information from L'Equipe, confirmed by several journalists on site, barriers have been installed in front of the row closest to the field in the south and north corners - which will be occupied by the ultras of the two teams on Saturday evening. The system, put in place for fear that supporters would invade the field, is highly criticized by the National Association of Supporters.
The collective announced on Friday that it had filed a motion for interim release before the administrative justice to request the removal of the grids. Some must mechanically open in the event of too much pressure, to prevent a movement of the crowd from causing injuries in the absence of means of exiting the stands from below, but the fear of some supporters remains – the memory of the Hillsborough disaster in 1989 is frequently cited against the introduction of gates in stadiums.
In 2022, FC Nantes' victory in the final did not result in an invasion of the pitch at the Stade de France. The Nantes supporters, however, celebrated their victory in the semi-final against Lyon, on April 5, on the lawn of Beaujoire.
