Emmanuel Macron has avoided going out on the field this Saturday, before the French Cup final, as usual, so as not to be booed by those who wanted to express their discontent at the delay in the retirement age. The French president has chosen to greet the players of the two teams, Nantes and Toulouse, in the corridors of the Stade de France, on the outskirts of Paris, and not on the pitch.
The final of the football tournament has been highly politicized for days, due to the desire of the unions to turn it into a powerful loudspeaker for their protest against the pension reform, two days before the May Day mobilizations, another decisive day for the expression of anger at the policies of Macron and his government.
The unions handed out thousands of whistles and red cards to fans arriving by subway. A prefectural ban on union action, due to the risk to public order it entailed, was lifted hours earlier by the administrative court. Freedom of association and expression prevailed. However, the stadium security personnel tried to confiscate the red cards and whistles, relying on the rule that prohibits political signs and emblems at sporting events, and that whistles can cause confusion with the referee. The confiscation could only be done partially, due to the resistance of the fans.
At minute 49, the zenith of the protest was to take place, alluding to article 49 of the Constitution used to approve the pension reform by decree, without a parliamentary vote. But the roar of the stadium in the heat of the game and the presence of smoke from the fumigants used by some fans made the gesture of some fans almost imperceptible.
For the security operation in the stadium and its surroundings, 3,000 police and gendarmes were mobilized, as well as 1,400 private agents. They wanted to avoid another image of a fiasco like the one in May of last year in the Champions League final between Real Madrid and Liverpool. For France, it is very important to demonstrate the ability to manage large sporting events, especially before the Paris Olympic Games in the summer of 2024.
In recent weeks, both Macron and members of his government have suffered protests while traveling around the country. The unions always mobilize their militants to carry out pot concerts, display banners and express their anger on camera. The president has come to alter his plans at the last minute to make an unforeseen stop in a place where he is not welcomed with hostility and thus be able to counteract the negative images.
