Paris will deploy 5,400 police officers for Saturday’s UEFA Champions League final between Paris Saint-Germain and Inter Milan, police chief Laurent Nunez said on Friday in an interview with French broadcaster Cnews.
"A massive deployment in the capital and its surroundings, with 5,400 personnel mobilised... that's enormous," Paris police chief Laurent Nunez said in an interview with Le Parisien daily on Friday.
Many of the officers will be deployed on the French capital's Champs-Elysees avenue and around PSG's home stadium Parc des Princes on the southwestern edge of the city, he said.
The game is the climax to the European season and despite enormous spending, PSG have never won the most glamorous prize in European club football. This is PSG's only second final since the transformative Qatari takeover of the team from the French capital in 2011.
Security measures
Luis Enrique’s squad will remain in Munich on Saturday night, regardless of that evening’s result against Italian giants Inter, and will return to France – with, fans hope, their first Champions League trophy.
The schedule is subject to change, but the squad are expected to arrive at Roissy-Charles de Gaulle airport between 3.30pm and 4pm on Sunday, and will be whisked away off the tarmac, away from the eyes of any French fans.
If PSG win, a victory parade is planned to take place later on Sunday in the area of the Champs-Elysees.
Barcelona and Inter Milan are the other teams clashing in the first round of the semis billed for Thursday night.
In light of the incident in Liverpool earlier this week in which a car ploughed into soccer fans, Nunez said traffic around the Arc de Triomphe - one of the city's best-known landmarks - will be blocked from midday Saturday, with the Champs-Elysees boulevard and nearby streets also closed that evening.
PSG’s win over Arsenal earlier this month, which secured their place in the final, sparked a night of unrest in Paris, with 47 people arrested and three others injured after being hit by a car. "From 6 p.m. (1600 GMT) this Saturday, there will be no more traffic on the Champs-Elysees and in the perpendicular streets," Nunez said.
