Stade de France: Macron reiterates his "confidence" in Darmanin and Lallement

Europe 1 with AFP 5:50 p.m., June 02, 2022

Emmanuel Macron said Thursday in Marseille to "trust" the Minister Gérald Darmanin and the Paris police chief, Didier Lallement, both in turmoil after the fiasco on Saturday at the Stade de France during the Champions League final.

"Ministers, I appoint them, I trust them"

"The ministers, I appoint them, I have confidence in them, this is also the case for the Minister of the Interior" and "the prefect who represents the Republic and public order and who was precisely confronted with an influx massive", declared the head of state to the press on the sidelines of a trip to the Marseille city devoted to education.

"And so I want the government to be able to do its job, so that, in complete transparency, we can learn all the lessons and also reiterate my confidence in those concerned", added Emmanuel Macron, who was speaking for the first time publicly on these incidents.

"France has always shown that it knows how to attract major competitions, it has shown it again with the Euro (2016 football). We will draw all the consequences of this match but must I remind you that many of these finals unfortunately have sometimes had much more dramatic events and we are preparing today to welcome rugby in 2023 and the 2024 Olympics”, he concluded.

On Wednesday, President Emmanuel Macron had asked the government to do all "transparency" on the incidents that occurred near the Stade de France, reported government spokeswoman Olivia Grégoire who apologized for these incidents.

A fiasco

Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin then sketched out a

during a three-hour hearing before the Senate's law commission, paving the way for reparations for supporters and sanctions against the police, while maintaining its controversial version on the number of counterfeit notes.

On Saturday evening, chaos reigned around the Stade de France on the sidelines of the Champions League final between Liverpool and Real Madrid: spectators without tickets climbing the gates, families and supporters sprayed with tear gas, or even victims of theft or assault.

Incidents due, according to Gérald Darmanin, to the influx of "30,000 to 40,000 English supporters without tickets" or "with falsified tickets".

This situation, according to the authorities, led near the Stadium to massive congestion, overflows and an intervention by the police, which did not cause any serious injuries.

Since then, the controversy has not subsided, while the oppositions, from the far right to the far left, consider the assertions of Gérald Darmanin to be false.