2 dead, police officer in coma after overnight UCL celebrations in France

PARIS (AP) — Two fans died and a police officer is in a coma after mass nationwide celebrations for Paris Saint-Germain's historic Champions League victory, European soccer's biggest prize, French authorities said Sunday.

The fatalities marred a night of exuberance after PSG clinched its first — and long-awaited — Champions League title, in a 5-0 win over Inter Milan. The Eiffel Tower glowed in team colors, and fans partied through the night.

The triumphant team denounced the violence, as the players were arriving in Paris and heading to a big victory parade Sunday. The title "should be a moment of collective joy," PSG said in a statement. "These isolated acts are contrary to the club's values, and don't at all represent the immense majority of our fans."

Emmanuel Macron condemned the violence, calling it "unacceptable."

"Nothing can justify what has happened in the last few hours, the violent clashes are unacceptable," the French president said. "We will pursue, we will punish, we will be relentless."

The overnight celebrations were largely peaceful but degenerated into violence in some areas.

A 17-year-old boy was stabbed to death in the western city of Dax during a PSG street party after Saturday night's final in Munich, the national police service said. A man in his 20s was killed in Paris when his scooter was hit by a car during PSG celebrations, and the driver has been detained, Paris police said. The circumstances of both are being investigated.

A police officer was hit accidentally by fireworks at a PSG gathering in Coutances in northwest France and placed in an artificial coma because of grave eye injuries, the national police service said. A total of 201 people were injured around the capital, four of them seriously, the Paris police chief said.

In the Alpine city of Grenoble, a driver ran into pedestrians who had gathered for a PSG celebration, injuring three or four people, the regional prosecutor's office said. It said the driver was detained. The city also saw fans throwing projectiles at firefighters and police using dispersion grenades.

The team and French officials are hoping Sunday is about the victory instead of violence. Up to 110,000 people were allowed along the iconic, tree-lined Champs-Elysees avenue for a parade. Later, the team will join fans in PSG's home stadium, the Parc des Princes, for a concert and light show and official presentation of the Champions League trophy.

PSG arrived at Charles de Gaulle Airport airport at around 4:30 p.m. (1430 GMT). Club captain Marquinhos and president Nasser Al-Khelaifi brandished the Champions League trophy aloft as they got off the plane.

A wide swath of central Paris was closed to traffic for the exceptional day. The security measures are also impacting the French Open unfolding nearby.

Thousands of police were deployed to keep order, and will employ similar tactics as they did Saturday night, Paris police chief Laurent Nunez told reporters. AP reporters saw tear gas used near the stadium and water cannons used near the Arc de Triomphe to disperse rowdy crowds Saturday.

In addition to the injuries and arrests, Nunez said four stores were looted overnight. Firefighters were so busy extinguishing garbage can fires in the middle of celebrations and dealing with other emergencies that the fire hotline was overloaded.

By 2 a.m. Sunday, a total of 294 arrests had been made, including 30 people who broke into a shoe shop on the Champs-Elysees. Two cars were set alight close to Parc des Princes, police added.

At the Place de la Bastille, there were joyous scenes as fans climbed onto the base of the famous column, singing, dancing and letting off flares, while those around them joined in.

At one point, motorbikes loudly revved their engines and the crowd cheered as they did laps around the column. There were no police nearby and, by 1 a.m., the atmosphere was upbeat with no tensions and plenty of singing.

Nunez blamed the scattered troubles on "thousands of people who came to commit acts of violence" instead of watching the match. He noted similar unrest on the sidelines of prior celebrations in the capital, such as after France's World Cup win in 2018.

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John Leicester contributed to this report.

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