Jubilation on Paris Champs-Elysees after France reach World Cup final

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. We are proud of our country and happy for France,” said Kamal Seddiki, a 22-year-old Moroccan student.

There were 170 arrests nationwide, including more than 100 in Paris, when Morocco and France made the semifinals at the weekend.

But celebrations appeared free of tension and a French anti-riot police van even used one of its sirens to mark the moment when Kolo Muani scored the goal to give France a 2-0 lead.

Police did however move to disperse a group of fans who were setting off fireworks around the