They’ve been waiting for this for 22 years. This Wednesday, January 14, a few moments after Morocco qualified for the final of its African Cup of Nations, thousands of Atlas Lions supporters residing in France spontaneously took to the streets to celebrate the victory won on penalties against Nigeria (0-0, 4-2 tab).
If the majority of gatherings went well in France, some excesses were recorded by the National Police in a report sent this Thursday morning.
In Île-de-France, the only differences took place in Mureaux, in Yvelines (78). On site, a police vehicle was the victim of firework mortars while around thirty individuals blocked a roundabout. Calm was quickly restored and no injuries were reported, just like in Bordeaux, where 16 fireworks mortars were fired into the air during a gathering of 150 Moroccan supporters.
“A hundred hostile individuals” in Avignon
In other cities, such as Maubeuge, Montpellier, Avignon, Miramas, Alès and Toulouse, the police were also targeted, with some officers being thrown projectiles. The most significant excesses were observed in the Avignon city. “Around 1,000 Moroccan supporters gathered in the area of the ramparts and rue Pierre-Sémard,” we can read in the press release from the police. “A hundred hostile individuals threw projectiles at the police, forcing the CRS and the BAC to use MCDs. Two adults, of French nationality and unknown to the TAJ, were arrested by the BAC for throwing projectiles,” it is specified.
In Alès, an individual firing fireworks mortars into the air from the passenger seat of a vehicle almost injured a police officer and found himself placed in police custody. On the Toulouse side, projectiles were also thrown at the officers on duty, without major damage.
