The Stade de France was turned into a “bunker” before the match between France and Israel.

Several hundred rally participants spoke out sharply against holding the match on French soil, shouting slogans: “Liberate Palestine!”, “No to the genocide of the Palestinian people!” , and when they decided to head towards the Garden de France, their path was blocked by police in full combat gear.

The stadium itself most closely resembled a besieged fortress or, as the capital’s newspaper Figaro wrote, “a real bunker.”

And there is an explanation for this. Local authorities have learned lessons from the sad experience of Amsterdam, where, after a football match between the Ajax club and Tel Aviv’s Maccabi, serious clashes occurred between Israeli fans and local activists from Muslim and left-wing organizations.

Four thousand police officers and gendarmes were involved in ensuring order around the stadium, not counting over one and a half thousand employees of private security companies who will directly monitor order in the stands.

According to the latest data, there will be very few fans at the stadium – less than 20 thousand people. And this despite the fact that the sports complex is designed for 80 thousand. Thus, as many French media emphasize, there is one law enforcement officer for every four spectators.

And indeed the stadium is a strange sight: there are many times more empty seats than occupied ones.

Before entering the stadium, fans had to go through two so-called “security perimeters”, where they had to present personalized tickets, identification cards, and also undergo a personal search.

Backpacks, other bags, and drinks in any packaging were prohibited. Only the national flags of France and Israel are allowed in the stadium. Others are prohibited, as are posters and banners with political slogans. Everyone was warned that violators would be severely punished.

Along the perimeter of the football field, the stadium administration installed metal gratings that were more than three meters high. The first five rows of seats are blocked off with canvas coverings. All this is done in order to prevent the possible penetration of heated fans onto the field.

Israeli football players were brought to the stadium in buses under heavy escort from police cars with flashing lights and motorcyclists. There are few fans at the stadium who flew in from Israel. Maybe a little over a hundred. They are given a separate platform. They are also carefully guarded.

French Interior Minister Bruno Retaio personally inspected the security measures at the stadium. The match is attended by French President Emmanuel Macron, Prime Minister Michel Barnier, as well as former presidents Francois Hollande and Nicolas Sarkozy.