French capital hosts Paris Saint-Germain parade after clashes marred Champions League win

Fans cheer as a giant monitor shows PSG's head coach Luis Enrique and team upon landing, during celebrations the day after winning the Champions League title, at the Eiffel Tower, in Paris, Sunday, May 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Emma Da Silva)

PARIS — A huge crowd of supporters gathered peacefully near the Eiffel Tower on Sunday to celebrate Paris Saint-Germain’s Champions League title victory which was marred by violent clashes overnight across France that led police to detain hundreds of people.

Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said 780 people were detained in Paris and other cities and 57 officers were wounded, with most suffering minor injuries, as football fans set off fires and vandalized shops overnight.

Nuñez said at a news conference Sunday that “the situation has been largely brought under control.”

“Most of the celebrations took place peacefully” across the French capital, he said, noting most incidents happened in the Champs Elysees neighborhood and close to the Parc des Princes stadium, in western Paris, where fans had gathered to watch the match.

• READ MORE: Paris police detain dozens after violence erupts during celebrations of PSG’s Champions League title

Nuñez said that planned celebrations for the team’s win on Sunday afternoon at the Champ de Mars would go ahead as scheduled. He warned that police would respond with “firmness and determination” to any potential violence.

Up to 100,000 supporters were expected at the event that has been placed under high security measures.

PSG players will parade with the Eiffel Tower as a backdrop to present the Champions League trophy to the fans. The team will later be hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron at the Elysee presidential palace.

Nuñez said incidents took place in about 15 cities in France, describing “one to two” shops vandalized in each other than Paris. He said 780 people were detained in all, with 480 of them in the Paris area alone.

Police also intervened five times overnight to prevent people from blocking traffic on the main ring road around Paris, he said.

One serious accident involved a driver losing control of a car that rammed into a restaurant’s terrace, leaving two people wounded including one seriously, Nuñez said.

The Paris prosecutors’ office said 277 people have been formally placed in police custody, including 82 minors, for alleged offences. Most were for assault of police officers while other allegations include theft, vandalism and disturbing the public order.

Fans began celebrating in Paris after the final whistle on Saturday night in Budapest, Hungary, where Paris Saint-Germain was crowned Champions League winners after beating Arsenal in a dramatic penalty shootout.

Fans marched along the avenues near Paris’ Arc de Triomphe monument, with some setting off flares and blaring car horns. Around 20,000 people gathered on the Champs-Elysees, where police worked to contain the crowd.

The Paris police prefecture said smaller groups caused disturbances in various locations, with some vandalizing shops and setting fires to garbage and self-service bicycles in the streets. Cars were also set ablaze. Some who attempted to storm a police station in the posh 8th Arrondissement neighborhood were dispersed, police said.

“The vast majority of Parisians celebrated it with joy, unity, and respect,” Paris mayor Emmanuel Grégoire said Sunday in a message on X while condemning violence “in the strongest possible terms.”

In May last year following PSG’s first title, 201 people were injured in the French capital and police made more than 500 arrests across France.

Sylvie Corbet And Samuel Petrequin, The Associated Press