Senegal jersey on her shoulders, Fatima, 22, sketches a few steps of mbalax, a very popular dance in Dakar. She doesn’t speak, she screams with… joy! “It’s like a liberation!” We won thanks to the justice of God, the Moroccans cheated so much but we had our revenge,” comments this Franco-Senegalese pharmacy student.
Like her, hundreds of fans of the Lions of Teranga gathered on the Champs-Élysées to celebrate the title of African champion obtained on Sunday evening, following an incredible scenario.
A decree, taken on Friday by the Paris police headquarters, however banned in the sector “groups of people claiming to be supporters of football teams playing matches for the 2025 African Cup of Nations”.
But as during the semi-final with the Moroccan supporters, the attraction towards the most beautiful avenue in the world was stronger than the ban, which, moreover, many fans do not understand when it is authorized during a coronation of PSG in the Champions League or of the French team in the World Cup.
On the outskirts of the Champs, the security system thwarted
Despite an important security system – eight CRS sections and two Motorized Violence Action Repression Brigades (Brav-M) deployed – and various roadblocks installed on Avenue George-V or Avenue de la Grande-Armée to filter vehicles, Sadio Mané’s fans managed to slip through the cracks.
At 11:15 p.m., a few minutes after the final whistle in Rabat, everything was still very calm near the Arc de Triomphe. “Come on, kids, to bed!” », shouts, hilariously, a CRS to a handful of Senegal supporters who feel very alone at that moment. But fifteen minutes later, change of scenery and decibels.
It’s a concert of horns that can be heard in beautiful neighborhoods. At the car windows, passengers take the risk of waving green-yellow-red flags. Bikers dressed in winners’ jerseys rev their engines. A scooter driver who managed to attach a mini Senegal flag to his top case was stopped by a police officer… on a scooter, who asked him to remove his piece of fabric in the wind. He escapes the fine of 135 euros.
Yorick, 19, from Sannois (Val-d’Oise) is on cloud nine. He swears that he never doubted the triumph of his people. “Our victory is not a miracle, we are just too strong. We don’t stress! “, he boasts. Morocco supporters, heads bowed, pass in front of him. No question of rooming them. “We, the Senegalese, remain humble, we don’t make a fuss,” he smiles.
“Mané is the best African player of all time! »
Princess and Nafissatou, 18 years old, make “a lot of noise”. “It’s crazy!” We watched the match with Moroccans in a fast food restaurant. When there was the penalty for them, we started to hide our jerseys. And finally, we win, we’re in awe, we’re on fire,” the young ladies jubilantly say. “Did we do it or didn’t we do it? Did we do it or didn’t we do it? », harangue, crescendo, a leader almost in a trance.
Awa, 38, tries to recover from her emotions. “My heart, it has never beaten so fast. I was close to a heart attack, so much was stolen from us,” she breathes as a police officer approaches her to tell her that “we must not remain static”. For Noah, 20, nicknamed “Tok Tok” as it is emblazoned on his Senegal jersey, “the hero is Sadio Mané”. “He’s the best African player of all time, he surpassed Drogba and Eto’o, you can write that! », ignites the one who experienced “the best match of (his) life”.
On the sidewalks, the crowds of pedestrians singing and dancing were dispersed from midnight by the police using tear gas, which caused crowd movements. “It spoils the party,” regrets Yannick, 21, a supervisor in a store. Some young people light smoke bombs, others fire fireworks mortars while the prefectural decree prohibits all pyrotechnic devices.
Access to the very top of the Champs-Élysées is completely closed off. Around 1 a.m., the horns diminish in tone. Here, the coronation evening for lovers of the Senegal team ends without any major outbursts.
