PARIS: There were jubilant scenes on the Champs-Elysees avenue in central Paris on Wednesday as French supporters waved tricolor flags and let off flares to celebrate the win over Morocco that put Les Bleus into the World Cup final.
Some 10,000 police were mobilized across France to ensure there was no unrest during and after the match, given the potential of clashes between French supporters and those backing France’s one-time North African colony.
But there was little sign of tension as supporters thronged the end of the avenue leading to the Arc de Triomphe in impassioned but largely good-natured scenes with Moroccan supporters accepting defeat, AFP correspondents said. “We are in the final.
We are in the final,” hundreds of French supporters chanted as drivers sounded horns and anti-riot police lurked in vans lining the area. “What pleasure it will be to play Argentina in the final,” said Sylvain Badin, 24, clutching a French flag. “I came to share a moment of joy.” Dozens of Moroccan fans had also made themselves heard during the match in the area, swathing themselves in national flags as they followed the match on their phones. “We lost but it’s only football and we made history by making the semifinals.