Saturday evening, was held at the Stade de France, in Saint-Denis, just north of Paris, the final of the Champions League, opposing a British soccer team and another Spanish. It was a massive event, garnering international attention.
Alas, it all turned into a disaster.
The organizers lost control of the events, a massive traffic of counterfeit tickets would have contributed to this. It was an organizational hiccup. The French confess their shame in the media.
Reputation
Above all, we saw thugs from the suburbs storming the event. They molested and robbed the spectators.
Strangely, part of the political class locks itself in almost complete denial, while ordinary mortals, witnessing the events, saw in it another confirmation of the insecurity that characterizes a growing number of neighborhoods in France – particularly in Seine-St-Denis, where the Stade de France is built.
Because insecurity is a real problem in this country.
The neighborhoods that evade French law are often those that evade French mores. We have been talking for more than twenty years regarding the lost territories of the Republic. A form of hooliganism reigns in several of them.
Those who live there are obviously the first victims.
It will be added that ordinary mortals have no illusions. I have lost count of the number of young women who have decided to join boxing, not because they want to keep in shape or because they enjoy the sport, but because they want to be able to defend themselves if ever bad luck fell on them.
Insecure
They know how to dress according to the metro line they will take.
They also know what time not to venture into a neighborhood.
Saturday night’s events reminded everyone of the centrality of insecurity in France.
