Paris NFL game given green light to go ahead after violent protests in France

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Sunday’s NFL matchup in Paris between the New Orleans Saints and the Pittsburgh Steelers will proceed as scheduled under heightened security measures, the league announced Tuesday, following a period of violent unrest that engulfed the French capital.

Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu confirmed Tuesday that military personnel will reinforce police in a “massive” security operation targeting demonstrations set for Saturday, following looting and widespread rioting across Paris and other French cities on October 17.

“We always have a very strong security presence,” said Peter O’Reilly, the NFL’s executive vice president of club business, international and league events.

“That presence will be heightened with local authorities (as we are) making sure that there’s nothing more important from our standpoint than team security, fan security (and) everybody involved with this game.”

Hosted at the Stade de France, the fixture marks the first regular season game the league has ever staged in the French capital. It forms part of a record nine-game slate of international matches this season as the NFL targets lucrative global markets.

O’Reilly noted that the NFL is considering adding a 10th international game to the season starting in 2027.

The turmoil over the weekend, representing some of the worst unrest France has suffered in years, followed weeks of largely peaceful student demonstrations over school conditions and living costs. French authorities imposed curfews across several cities on Monday.

NFL officials have already been on the ground in Paris for 10 days, O’Reilly told reporters.

“We feel confident that we would not have any impact on the broader resources needed,” he said. “That’s always top of mind for us and we feel confident that we wouldn’t be depleting resources in a negative way around this game.”

Saints star Juwan Johnson voiced concerns over safety on Monday, stating some of his family members are “very undecided” about whether to travel to Paris for the game.

“Just being safe is obviously the biggest thing,” Johnson said. “Some guys have family here. Some guys have their parents, their kids and things like that.”

Johnson said his family “may be making the trip. If they do I’m sure it’ll be great. If they don’t, obviously I completely understand. We’re very undecided right now.”